After many years of applauding runaway population growth,
Premier Miles recently called for a slowdown
in immigration numbers under the Labor Albanese Government, at least to a
pace we can manage. He doubled down on that by linking
rampant population growth to congestion. This was labelled an “outrageous”
claim, which is unfair. I happen to be (for once) in furious agreement.
Where did he get these ideas from I wonder? Maybe it was this
article from September 2022 which pointed out that a housing shortage was
only one symptom of rapid growth. Water, hospitals, schools even energy ought
to be just as much a worry. Or this
article from February 2023 which argued that the idea of population growth
being something we can’t control is plain wrong. We can stop people
coming to Australia by simply not inviting them. Population growth and
immigration are directly linked. Then there was this
article from August 2023 which showed that our rates of population growth –
the speed at which we are trying to grow – is well in excess of developed
economies but on par with third world ones. Or this
one from January 2024 which pointed to the adverse consequences of very
rapid population growth.
In terms of congestion, the link between population growth
and traffic was highlighted in this
yarn from July 2022 which warned that we don’t have a plan for the 1
million more cars that will follow population growth into south east
Queensland. This
article from September 2023 looked at the great urban mobility challenge and
this
article from December 2023 pointed out the futility of looking to heavy
commuter rail as a congestion buster because we no longer have a heavily
centralised economy (most people don’t work where trains take them).
There are many more, but that’ll do. Should I take some
credit?
I doubt it, but just in case he’s reading this, here’s an
idea. The solution to much of this lies in our suburbs and regions. Yes we need
to slow growth to a speed we can manage. But we also need to think more about
where that growth can go.
Our budgets and growth priorities are all out of kilter. We
have run-down older legacy industrial precincts which, by some absurd notion, some
argue need to be preserved so that they can continue to store boxes or caravans
instead or workers or residents. Why not convert them into mixed use
live-work-play precincts? Jobs and social infrastructure closer to where people
live. It’s not hard. Older precincts where industry has left for very good
reasons are the obvious choice.
Then there are the high growth regions. Even if we slow
growth to a manageable pace, regions like Moreton, Logan or Ipswich are not
blessed with legacy infrastructure which is underutilised. There isn’t much already
below the ground by way of services in a cow paddock. Nor are they the focus
for enhanced job and social infrastructure plans. Instead, they are grossly
underfunded relative to the prosperous inner city, for which there seems no end
to the largesse. How about instead of consigning these regions to poor
dormitory status where residents will need to commute great distances to access
work or social infrastructure, we instead match budgets to growth projections?
Then there are the regions. Why would anyone at family
formation stage move to a regional city which has been notorious for not even
having a maternity unit? Why would a business locate in such a place where attracting
a qualified workforce is a huge challenge simply because it doesn’t measure up
in terms of amenity or quality of life. Education and health are undercapitalised
in many of our regional cities. Without considerable investment in social
infrastructure and placemaking, they will continue to struggle to attract capital,
talent or enterprise.
There is one graph which says it all. Twelve years’ worth of
state budgets show a continued pattern of spending that is focussed in the city
centre, while high growth areas and regional cities do not fare anywhere near
as well. There is nothing wrong with investing in the inner city but spending
across the state could be more equitable – and more focussed on aligning capital
investment with suburban renewal and regional development strategy.
All the population growth being pumped into one place –
which is what is happening now – is never going to work. The symptoms of this are
becoming obvious.
