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Urban Taskforce | Media Releases
Intergenerational Report says our cities must be prepared
01 February 2010
The Urban Taskforce has welcomed todays Intergenerational Report from the Federal Government.
The report highlights the importance of good infrastructure to our cities, Mr Gadiel said.
It acknowledges the link between high quality urban infrastructure and increased economic productivity.
Mr Gadiel praised the reports finding that The sustainability of Australia's cities will also be dependent on better governance in the planning and organisation of city infrastructure and more efficient use of existing infrastructure.
Its clear that population growth is inevitable and essential to Australias future, Mr Gadiel said.
The report observes that countries with low or declining population growth face more extreme ageing challenges, with greater demands for publicly funded social services and a reduced ability to meet these challenges. There are growing concerns about the fiscal sustainability of some of these countries.
Immigrants help deal with the challenges of an ageing of the population because the average immigrant is younger than those already here.
Currently around 89 per cent of immigrants are aged less than 40 years when they migrate to Australia. This compares to around 55 per cent aged less than 40 years for the resident population.
Mr Gadiel said he was concerned that the study projects a decline in the level of population growth - from 2.1 per cent in 2008-09 to 0.9 per cent in 2049-50.
The government seems to be expecting the rate our population grows to taper off over the next 40 years - with an annual increase of 1.2 per cent, rather than the 1.4 per cent over the previous 40 years, he said.
This kind of reduction in our long-term level of population growth will carry economic and social costs for all Australians.
Australia's population is projected to grow from around 22 million people currently to 35.9 million people in 2050.
Population ageing, and the associated decline in workforce participation, is projected to reduce the potential economic growth rate of the Australian economy. Over the past 40 years, real GDP growth has averaged 3.3 per cent a year. For the next 40 years, real GDP growth is expected to slow to 2.7 per cent a year.
In the face of an ageing population, we need to see significant increases in Australias productivity growth to secure our economic future.
This means the outdated urban planning laws that restrict competition and reduce economic efficiency need to be tacked.
The Urban Taskforce is a property development industry group, representing Australias most prominent property developers and equity financiers.
For every $1 million in construction expenditure, 27 jobs are created throughout the broader economy.