VAGO shows we need a population plan

A Victorian Auditor-General’s Office (VAGO) report Effectively Planning for Population Growth released this week is further evidence the Andrews Labor Government has no plan to manage our massive population growth, says Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Population Policy Tim Smith.

Victoria grew by an unprecedented 146,000 people last year, 77% of our population lives in Melbourne and 90% of our annual population growth comes to Melbourne. However, regional Victoria’s proportion of our State’s population has been decreasing every year for the last decade.

The Liberal Nationals Coalition believe that we must decentralise economic and population growth around our State so we can ease the squeeze in Melbourne and grow our regional areas.

The VAGO report found that:

“Population growth has not been evenly distributed across Victoria, nor is it expected to be in the future.”

“…population growth has been more concentrated in the seven greenfield growth areas on Melbourne’s fringe.”

“42 per cent of the projected population growth is expected to occur in seven local government areas…These areas are Cardinia, Casey, Hume, Melton, Mitchell, Whittlesea and Wyndham (growth areas).”

VAGO also found that Victoria In Future (VIF) “population projections have significantly understated the actual pace of population growth” and …”continued underestimation suggests a need to review the VIF methodology and assumptions, including how frequently they are updated.”

Labor has no plan to manage population growth, and Victoria desperately needs a population policy to reverse the trend into piling more and more people into Melbourne.

Attributable to Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Population Policy, Tim Smith:

We need to ease the squeeze on Melbourne’s huge population growth.

Daniel Andrews has no plan, no vision and no interest in decentralisation.  Under Labor, we will continue to see a Melbourne that expands forever and regional Victoria being ignored.

The Liberal Nationals have a positive plan to manage population growth by decentralising our State, by taking the pressure off Melbourne and carefully planning for growth in regional Victoria.

Please download this press release as a PDF