A Greater Australia: Population, policies and governance - CEDA

Section 2.3Table 6Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide: Estimated Components ofPopulation Change, 1996–2001 and 2001–06NaturalincreaseNetinternationalmigrationNet internalmigrationTotalmigrationTotalpopulationincrease1996–2001Sydney 000s 149 168 –61 107 256Per cent 58.2 65.6 –23.8 41.8 100Melbourne 000s 109 108 11 119 228Per cent 47.8 47.4 4.8 52.2 100Brisbane 000s 58 31 50 81 139Per cent 41.7 22.3 36 58.3 100Perth ‘000s 47 40 9 49 96Per cent 49 41.7 9.4 51 100Adelaide ‘000s 22 9 –4 5 27Per cent 81.5 33.3 –14.8 18.5 1002001–2006Sydney 000s 159 84 –121 –37 122Per cent 130.3 68.9 –99.2 –30.3 100Melbourne 000s 121 124 –19 105 226Per cent 53.5 54.9 –8.4 46.5 100Brisbane 000s 66 27 43 70 136Per cent 48.5 19.9 31.6 51.5 100Perth ‘000s 49 53 3 56 105Per cent 46.7 50.5 2.9 53.3 100Adelaide ‘000s 21 22 –10 12 33Per cent 63.6 66.7 –30.3 36.4 100Source: ABS unpublished dataexperienced by the nation’s two largest cities, dwarfed by the net gain of immigrantsfrom overseas, which accounted for more than half of this expansion. However, duringthe 1976–96 period, a quite different pattern was evident, with a substantial net internalmigration loss being recorded in both large cities, although international migrationremained an important source of growth, especially in Sydney.Some differences are evident in the most recent decade. In 1996–2001 there was areduced net loss in Sydney, perhaps associated with the growth created by the 2000Olympic Games. However, since then the massive net interstate migration losses haveresumed. In Melbourne there were small net interstate migration gains in 1996–2001but a net out-migration of 18,000 in 2001–06. Hence Sydney, and to a much lesserextent Melbourne, have been important sources of internal migrants to the rest ofAustralia while the fact that international migrants have disproportionately settled inAustralia’s two largest cities has been the major migration driver of their growth.A Greater Australia: Population, Policies and Governance82