Voters oppose ‘Big Australia’ push according to Australian Population Research Institute survey

About 70 per cent of voters in a recent poll said they don’t believe Australia needs more people, citing these key issues for their stance.

A huge majority of voters oppose a return to “Big Australia” migrant intakes due to concerns about congestion, jobs, house prices and the environment, a key poll has found.

And most Aussies reject “woke” positions on issues like transwomen playing in women’s sports, much higher refugee numbers and a special Indigenous “voice to parliament”.

To be released Thursday, the Australian Population Research Institute survey of 2500 people found that only one-in-five voters backed a return to annual net migration levels of 240,000.

About 70 per cent of respondents said Australia didn’t need more people, including 28 per cent who favoured zero net migration.

And only a quarter of voters agreed with the view of big business that employers should be able to import skilled workers to boost economic growth, while 61 per cent said Australia should fix worker shortages by raising wages and increasing skills.

Net overseas migration plunged into negative territory during the pandemic as Australia largely shut its border.

Only 22 per cent of voters backed the idea that transwomen should be allowed to compete in women’s sport.

Report authors Dr Bob Birrell and Dr Katharine Betts said the results showed that 18 months of advocacy by business and government “elites” for the nation to again be wide open to the movement of people and goods and services had fallen on deaf ears.

“Instead, they (Australians) favour a more independent and self-reliant Australia, which implies giving priority to developing Australian sources of skills and locally produced goods and services,” they said.

The survey found that of the people who think the nation has enough people, big majorities feared major costs in congestion, housing prices, competition for hospital and school services, and environmental stress.

On social issues, only 22 per cent of voters backed the idea that transwomen should be allowed to compete in women’s sport.

And 45 per cent didn’t agree that “a woman is anyone who identifies as a woman regardless of their sex when born”.

Just under a third agreed with the statement, while a quarter didn’t have an opinion.

A big “progressive” issue is an Indigenous “voice” for federal Parliament, but 56 per cent of Australians don’t want it, the survey found.

The authors said the survey’s migration results could have implications for the Morrison Government at the next federal election, as Labor’s platform didn’t endorse Big Migration policies, especially on the issue of temporary skilled workers.

However, the Coalition might try to wedge Labor on woke issues like gender fluidity, the Indigenous voice and high refugee intakes.