Australia to appoint population minister

Reuters
April 4, 2010

• A d v e r t i s e m e n t

Australia is to create a new government post of minister for population tasked of developing an official population strategy, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said on Saturday.

Tony Burke, currently minister for agriculture, forestry and fisheries, will add the new job to his current portfolio, Rudd said. The new strategy is expected to take 12 months to develop.

Recent estimates have suggested Australia’s population could grow by more than 50 percent to around 35 million in the coming decades, from its current level of around 22 million, fuelled largely by immigration.

This has prompted concerns about whether such an increase is sustainable in the world’s driest continent.

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This article was posted: Sunday, April 4, 2010 at 11:12 am

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