63 of Sydneysiders agree migration a scapegoat for poor planning

Home Media Releases 63 of Sydneysiders agree migration a scapegoat for poor planning

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