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A 'Sustainable' Population? - Key Policy Issues

Roundtable proceedings

The Commission held a roundtable on A 'Sustainable' Population? - Key Policy Issues, at Old Parliament House in Canberra on 21-22 March 2011.

Participants included government officials, academics, consultants and representatives of non-government organisations. Keynote addresses were presented by Professor Barry Chiswick from the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, George Washington University, and Distinguished Professor Richard Arnott from the University of California, Riverside.

The Commission is grateful to the speakers, discussants, participants and others whose contributions made the roundtable such a valuable exercise.

Download the roundtable proceedings

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Foreword

Session 1 - Population, productivity and participation

Session 2 - Limits to population growth?

Session 3 - Social impacts of migration

Session 4 - Panel discussion:implications for policy directions

Dinner address

Appendicies

In March 2011, the Productivity Commission hosted a roundtable on the theme A ‘Sustainable’ Population? - Key Policy Issues. The proceedings are being released to enable public access to the papers and discussion, and insights that emerged.

In his opening remarks,Productivity Commission Chairman, Gary Banks observed that recent debate about a 'sustainable' population has not always been well-informed. He noted the importance of clarifying the policy objectives and understanding the forces at work in assessing policy options. Papers presented at the Roundtable cover the key economic, environmental and social dimensions of population and immigration growth.

Roundtable participants included senior government officials, academics, consultants and representatives of non-government organisations. Keynote addresses were presented by Professor Richard Arnott (University of California)and Professor Barry Chiswick (George Washington University).

The publication complements other work by the Productivity Commission on the impact of population growth and immigration, including a Commission Research Paper Population and Migration:Understanding the Numbers, released in December 2010.

Background information

Patrick Jomini (Assistant Commissioner) 03 9653 2176

Requests for comment / other

02 6240 3330 / media@pc.gov.au

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