Premier Gladys Berejiklian has demanded New South Wales get “a seat at the table” in the national discussion about population, saying any Commonwealth policies will require the states to buy in if they are to be successful.
Berejiklian on October 31 appointed a panel of experts to develop a NSW population policy.
“As a daughter of proud migrants, I have and always will advocate for a NSW that is open and welcoming to new migrants,” Berejiklian said.
Federal population minister Alan Tudge recently pitched the Morrison Government’s decentralisation plan, which would include placing conditions on some working visas so migrants are forced to live outside major cities.
While Berejiklian conceded it was becoming “increasingly clear” that population growth was putting more pressure on infrastructure, she said: “NSW’s economic success is attracting a far greater share of total immigrant numbers than in the past.”
The expert panel includes Infrastructure NSW chief executive Jim Betts, Department of Planning and Environment secretary Carolyn McNally, and University of Western Sydney chancellor Peter Shergold, who formerly worked as the NSW refugee resettlement coordinator.
Berejiklian has asked the panel to consider the current rate of population growth and the state’s infrastructure pipeline, how long infrastructure will take to catch up with population, and what NSW’s role should be within the Commonwealth in terms of a population plan.
“We are in the midst of an unprecedented infrastructure boom in NSW with more than $87 billion being invested in new roads, transport, schools and hospitals over the next four years alone,” the premier said.
“But it is clear that despite that record infrastructure pipeline, Sydney and NSW are still playing catch up. This review will allow NSW to take a strategic approach to planning around population.”