A bigger Australia: opinions for and against

Final-release data from 2009-2010 Australian Survey of Social Attitudes are now available. These allow the analysis of attitudes to population growth across a wider range of background variables than in the pre-release data reported in the previous issue of People and Place. University graduates and migrants from non-English-speaking-backgrounds, especially if they are from high-income households, are the most likely to favour growth. In contrast, Australia-born non-graduates and people living in non-metropolitan areas are the least likely to do so. Voters who support the conservative parties are the most in favour of population stability but, even so, over two-thirds of Labor and Greens voters want stability. Many voters who are alienated from politics also support stability. Together these findings suggest opportunities for pro-stability parties and candidates in the forthcoming federal election.