Townsville Sun
30 May 2012
In a landmark Newspoll conducted exclusively for the Institute of Public Affairs, 58 per cent of Queenslanders have said that increasing the population of North Australia would be a good thing for the area. Only 19 per cent have said that a higher population would be bad for North Australia.
Director of the North Australia Project, John Shipp, said that public opinion across Australia is firmly on the side of higher population in North Australia, and Queensland is no different.
“Queenslanders know that a prosperous North Australia will benefit the whole country. They want policies put in place that stimulate economic and population growth in under-developed areas,’ Mr Shipp said.
The poll asked 1203 people across all states: “Overall, do you think increasing the population of this area would be a good thing for Northern Australia or a bad thing for Northern Australia?”
A majority of respondents in all states across all age groups said that an increase in population would be a good thing for North Australia:
– 63% of Australians said a population increase in North Australia would be a good thing.
– 58% in Queensland said a population increase in North Australia would be a good thing,
– 71% in West Australia said a population increase would be a good thing,
– 63% in New South Wales said a population increase would be a good thing,
– 64% in Victoria said a population increase would be a good thing; and
– 56% in South Australia said a population increase would be a good thing.
The North Australia Project is a joint project of Australians for Northern Development and Economic Vision and the Institute of Public Affairs.
The Newspoll was conducted via telephone, amongst 1203 people aged 18 years of age and over, over the weekend of May 18-20. For the purposes of the poll, North Australia was defined as including Far North Queensland, The Northern Territory, the Pilbara and the Kimberley.
A full briefing document is available from the IPA at www.ipa.org.au