Moderate Population Growth the Best Path to Prosperity
On 28 February 2011, the Business Council of Australia (BCA) released its submission to government on a sustainable population strategy.
Our view is that the main purpose of developing a national population strategy is to help chart a course towards Australia’s future that reflects the shared goals and aspirations of the Australian people.
Having considered the current and future context for Australia, and considered the benefits and risks of different population choices, our submission argues that improving the quality of life of all Australians within prosperous, secure and liveable communities is more likely to be achieved through well-managed population growth over the first half of this century.
Our submission asks the government and community to recognise that all options for population policy carry risk, and argues that low-growth or no-growth options are the least likely to deliver the living standards Australians would wish for future generations.
The submission is based on our Framework for the Development of Australia’s Population Strategy. You can download the submission from the BCA website HERE.
Graham Bradley AM is the President of the Business Council of Australia (BCA). Mr Bradley is Chairman of HSBC Bank Australia, Stockland Corporation, Boart Longyear, Anglo American Australia and Po Valley Energy. He is a director of Singapore Telecommunications. He was Managing Director of Perpetual Limited from 1995 to 2003. Prior to joining Perpetual, Mr Bradley was national managing partner of law firm Blake Dawson. Before this, he was a partner of McKinsey & Company. Mr Bradley also devotes time to several non-profit organisations. He has been a director of the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra and a member of the State Library of New South Wales Governing Council since 2004. He is a member of the advisory boards of the Crawford School of Economics and Government at ANU and the Australian School of Business at UNSW, and is a director of the European Australian Business Council.
