63% of Sydneysiders agree – migration a scapegoat for poor planning
A new poll shows 63% of Sydneysiders believe politicians are guilty of scapegoating migration for growth issues and that good planning is the key to achieving the sustainable growth of our city.
These are among the key findings from a national survey commissioned by the Property Council of Australia on attitudes towards population growth in our major cities. The results are being released ahead of next week’s COAG meeting in Adelaide where the Commonwealth, state and territory governments will discuss a new framework for better managing the impacts of population growth.
Nearly three quarters – 72 per cent – of Sydneysiders, believe population growth can be good as long as it is planned properly. Seventy-six per cent of Sydney residents also believe that growing pains are often the result of governments failing to plan properly.
“We need equitable, liveable and sustainable growth in Sydney and the Property Council’s research shows a majority of Sydneysiders agree,” Jane Fitzgerald, Property Council NSW Executive Director said today.
“The choice in Sydney and NSW is not between growth and no growth, the only choice we have is between good growth and bad growth; the important thing is to focus on the issues and the policies that can make a real difference.
“Growth is a challenging issue for Government, business and the community but we have done a lot of hard work in Sydney to get it right – we need to stay the course on the strategic plans we have and work towards ensuring they are implemented at a local level and communities can see the benefits.
“Growth in Sydney and NSW can benefit everyone in the community and must be built upon transparent and consistent decision making by political parties, local governments and planners,” Ms Fitzgerald said.
“Even with the challenges being a growing city brings, Sydneysiders love their city. Eighty-two per cent rate their city as an above average place to live whilst acknowledging the need to address the challenges like the cost of living, congestion and access to affordable housing.”
The online survey of 2,936 respondents was conducted between 13-23 November and included respondents in all state and territory capitals except for Darwin.
Media contact: William Power| M 0429 210 982 | E [email protected]
Poll Results
Population growth is good as long as it’s properly planned
|
Adelaide |
Brisbane |
Canberra |
Hobart |
Melbourne |
Perth |
Sydney |
Total agree |
75 |
76 |
82 |
74 |
72 |
75 |
72 |
Total Disagree
|
8 |
6 |
8 |
7 |
9 |
5 |
8 |
Neither |
16 |
16 |
9 |
19 |
17 |
18 |
18 |
Problems faced by growing cities often come down to governments failing to plan properly
|
Adelaide |
Brisbane |
Canberra |
Hobart |
Melbourne |
Perth |
Sydney |
Total agree |
74 |
79 |
86 |
82 |
77 |
77 |
76 |
Total Disagree
|
5 |
3 |
6 |
1 |
5 |
3 |
5 |
Neither |
18 |
16 |
8 |
15 |
17 |
17 |
18 |
From your own perspective, how would you rate your city as a place to live? % responses
|
Adelaide |
Brisbane |
Canberra |
Hobart |
Melbourne |
Perth |
Sydney |
Net |
Excellent |
34 |
26 |
38 |
47 |
30 |
31 |
25 |
31 |
Fairly/very good
|
54 |
64 |
53 |
46 |
57 |
58 |
57 |
57 |
Average |
8 |
9 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
11 |
9 |
Not very good |
2 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
5 |
3 |
Fairly/ very bad |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
The problems faced by growing cities often come down to governments failing to have planned properly
|
Adelaide |
Brisbane |
Canberra |
Hobart |
Melbourne |
Perth |
Sydney |
Total agree |
74 |
79 |
76 |
82 |
77 |
77 |
76 |
Total Disagree
|
5 |
3 |
6 |
1 |
5 |
3 |
5 |
Neither |
18 |
17 |
8 |
15 |
17 |
17 |
18 |
Politicians are guilty of blaming migration for their own lack of planning that has caused congestion in our cities
|
Adelaide |
Brisbane |
Canberra |
Hobart |
Melbourne |
Perth |
Sydney |
Total agree |
65 |
65 |
75 |
71 |
61 |
66 |
63 |
Total Disagree
|
10 |
9 |
7 |
8 |
12 |
8 |
11 |
Neither |
22 |
22 |
16 |
17 |
23 |
22 |
24 |
Feeling the growing pains
Concerns about growth are greatest in our east coast capitals.
72% of respondents from Melbourne and 70% in Sydney thought their city was growing too fast. 60% of Brisbane respondents thought their city’s population was growing too fast.
By contrast, only 36% of respondents from Adelaide thought their city was growing too fast, compared to 44% in Canberra, 46% in Hobart and 46% in Perth.
Nationally, almost all respondents (96%) thought the federal, state and territory governments had a very important or fairly important role in making their city a better place to live, followed by local government (94%), development and construction companies (92%), local businesses (92%) and community groups (88%)
Survey method
Online survey in field between 13 November and 23 November
National respondents – 2,936
Adelaide n=414
Brisbane n=415
Canberra n=208
Hobart n=200
Melbourne n=645
Perth n=251
Sydney n=645