AUSTR ALIAN POPULATI ON STUDIES 2018 | Volume 2 | Issue 2 | pages 1–2 © Wilson, Charles-Edwards and Corcoran 2018. Published under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial licence 3.0 Australia (CC BY-NC 3.0 AU). Journal website: www.australianpopulationstudies.org Editorial Introduction to the special section on Australia’s population policy Tom Wilson* Charles Darwin University Elin Charles-Edwards The University of Queensland Jonathan Corcoran The University of Queensland *Corresponding author. Email: tom.wilson@cdu.edu.au. Address: Northern Institute, Charles Darwin University, Ellengowan Drive, Darwin, NT 0909, Australia Published on 12 November 2018 This issue of Australian Population Studies includes a special commentary section on Australia’s population policy. Population issues and population policy debates periodically find themselves in the political and media spotlight, and recent months have seen a resurgence of interest in these topics. In part this attention was the result of Australia’s population officially passing the 25 million milestone in early August (ABS 2018), though population issues had been gaining momentum from earlier on in the year. A number of politicians and well-known figures have advocated for lower immigration and lower population growth, with relatively few voices supporting current or higher growth rates. While much attention has, as usual, focused on annual net overseas migration totals and the overall growth rate of the population, on this occasion many commentators have also expressed concern about the growth rates of Melbourne and Sydney, and argued for a greater proportion of immigrants to be directed away from those centres. Sensing the increased political sensitivity of the issue, the Australian Government created a new Minister for Cities, Urban Infrastructure and Population in addition to the established portfolio of Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs as part of the cabinet reshuffle accompanying the change in Prime Minister in August (Parliament of Australia 2018). Many will be watching for population-related policy announcements from these Ministers with interest, particularly in the lead-up to the next federal election. In the special commentary section of this issue three Australian demographers present their responses to the question ‘What sort of population policy should Australia adopt?’ (if any). The purpose is to add some academic perspectives to the wide-ranging population policy debate. All contributions underwent the same double-blind reviewing process applied to regular journal papers. Peter McDonald argues that Australia already has a comprehensive de facto population policy and that the country should retain it until at least 2026, especially in light of the labour supply crunch coming in the next decade. Nick Parr sets out the case for Australia to adopt an official population policy and focuses particularly on the Skilled stream of the Migration Program. Importantly, he also calls for more research on demographic issues to build up a more comprehensive evidence base for Australia’s population policy. Liz Allen also argues for an official population policy which eschews http://www.australianpopulationstudies.org/ mailto:tom.wilson@cdu.edu.au 2 Editorial: Wilson, Charles-Edwards and Corcoran Australian Population Studies 2 (2) 2018 demographic targets and instead emphasises the wellbeing of individuals and communities, and long-term sustainability. References Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) (2018) Australia's population to reach 25 million. Media release. http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/mediareleasesbyReleaseDate/C3315F52F6219DE9C A2582E1001BC66A?OpenDocument. Accessed on 8th October 2018 Parliament of Australia (2018) Current Ministry List: the 45th Parliament. https://www.aph.gov.au/about_parliament/parliamentary_departments/parliamentary_library/ parliamentary_handbook/current_ministry_list. Accessed on 8th October 2018. http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/mediareleasesbyReleaseDate/C3315F52F6219DE9CA2582E1001BC66A?OpenDocument http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/mediareleasesbyReleaseDate/C3315F52F6219DE9CA2582E1001BC66A?OpenDocument https://www.aph.gov.au/about_parliament/parliamentary_departments/parliamentary_library/parliamentary_handbook/current_ministry_list https://www.aph.gov.au/about_parliament/parliamentary_departments/parliamentary_library/parliamentary_handbook/current_ministry_list