Melbourne is one of the fastest-growing cities in the developed world

We’re sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. We’re working to restore it. Please try again later.

Advertisement

This was published 5 years ago

Melbourne is one of the fastest-growing cities in the developed world

By Eryk Bagshaw

Melbourne has become one of the fastest-growing cities in the developed world, racing away from the rest of Australia and doubling the rate of growth of most cities in advanced economies.

At 2.7 per cent last year, the city is growing at a rate usually associated with rapidly-expanding cities in China and South America - putting pressure on infrastructure and creating a political minefield for the Victorian and federal governments.

The city's surge past 5 million people has fuelled productivity-sapping transport and road bottlenecks in the CBD, frustrating commuters and hopeful homeowners struggling to get into the market.

Melbourne is one of the fastest growing cities in the developed world, according to population experts.

Melbourne is one of the fastest growing cities in the developed world, according to population experts.Credit: Josh Robenstone

New figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Thursday show Melbourne grew by more than 2.5 per cent annually between 2011 and 2017 compared to 1.8 per cent for Sydney.

"It is without doubt in the top five fastest-growing cities in the developed world," said Matthew Deacon, a demographic expert with population think tank .id.

"It's historically extremely high, at least since the start of the modern data collection in Australia.”

Melbourne is now showing growth rates comparable with Bogota in Colombia, Pune in India and Nanyang in China between 2010 and 2016, according to United Nations data.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison threatened to "pull levers" to get growth under control on Thursday, including sending international students to regional universities to relieve urban congestion as he puts together a formal population policy.

Melbourne's roads are straining under the surge in population, with the city hitting 5 million people this month.

Melbourne's roads are straining under the surge in population, with the city hitting 5 million people this month.Credit: Justin McManus

Advertisement

"Up in the north, they want more population, in Adelaide they want more population," he said.

"I can tell you, in the outer suburbs of Sydney and Melbourne, they don’t."

Mr Deacon said Melbourne's growth rate was outstripped only by Perth in the midst of the mining boom, when hundreds of thousands of miners were flooding into Western Australia and the city recorded growth rates of near 3 per cent. ABS data shows its five-year growth rate between 2005 and 2010 was 2.68 per cent, just above Melbourne's current rate.

"It is fair to say this is about as high as it gets," he said.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has threatened to pull levers to get population under control.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has threatened to pull levers to get population under control. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Melbourne's population pressures have been compounded by two years of consecutively high growth, with last year's result matching 2015-16, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Melbourne added 123,000 people in the last year alone and 650,000 since 2011, compared to 500,000 for Sydney.

While international comparisons are difficult because of differing data collection methods overseas, Mr Deacon said only a handful of cities in advanced economies would compete with Melbourne, including Las Vegas, Austin and Phoenix - which have populations that are a third the size.

While Melbourne is surging, Adelaide is crawling along at 0.76 per cent. Perth is now only slightly higher at 0.98 per cent. Sydney is also battling with its own infrastructure pressures, with a higher than average growth rate of 2.2 per cent last year for a city of more than 5 million. 

Victorian Opposition Leader Matthew Guy said he would put decentralisation of the population at the “front and centre” of his plans for dealing with Victoria’s growth if the Coalition wins the November election.

“It has never been more important for our state to have a population policy and sustainable population growth,” he said.

“If we don’t manage population now we will leave our children an unplanned, unmanaged city of 7 or 8 million people.”

Victorian Planning Minister Richard Wynne said people were drawn to Melbourne due to its "booming economy and lots of jobs".

"We’re building for growth with game-changing projects like the Metro Tunnel and the Melbourne Airport Rail Link, and we’re planning for the future with the Suburban Rail Loop, as well as pouring billions into hospital upgrades and new schools," he said.

"The Liberals did nothing but cut crucial services for four years and Matthew Guy has promised to send a million extra people into the outer suburbs."

Commonwealth Bank economist Kristina Clifton said the high population growth - 62 per cent of which was driven by net overseas migration last year - meant Australia needed to maintain higher than average economic growth rates to keep the wheels turning.

"This means that our economy needs to grow at a faster pace than other countries to keep GDP growth per capita in positive territory," she said. 

Most Viewed in National

Loading