When John Howard muscled up to a handful of desperate boat people and gave the clever impression of being tough on borders, he simultaneously added an extra hundred thousand ‘legal’ migrants every year (by plane) – and introduced the baby bonus. His Government ignored responsible stable population policies, setting the course for a big Australia of 36 million by 2050.

Labor trumpets their jobs and aggregate GDP performance but it is mirage economics. Per capita GDP has been stagnant, and it's easy to create 'jobs growth' when you are adding over one million people to the population every three years. There's no point having a bigger GDP cake if you get a thinner slice. It's not the economy, stupid - rapid population growth in a finite world is just stupid economics.

The key to Australia's skills predicament is that dependants and family-reunion entrants dominate the permanent migration program and create a big annual net skills deficit because of the services they require. Most are not tested for the specific skills we need but still demand skills from doctors, teachers, engineers and accountants, to name a few. This fuels a vicious circle of skills shortages and wage inflation pressure.

'Decentralisation' schemes have cost governments billions over the years, for slim returns. Why? There are more than enough people in our over-crowded major cities to re-populate the regions, if only there were the jobs, water and infrastructure. No credible policy will stop 90 per cent of immigrants initially or eventually settling in the capital cities. But a stable population with decentralisation is a win-win.

So pervasive is the assertion that we have an ‘ageing crisis’ that it seems to have entered popular belief. Having spent all of human history trying to live longer, we now hear government and big business spreading fear about a wonderful achievement. A stable population is the only way to maximise our demographic triumph & future-proof our quality of life.

Complex infrastructure is not just about the planning. It’s mainly about the paying. If infrastructure for population growth is sending you broke and necessitating the sale of your remaining assets and use of retirement funds, there won’t be much left to pay for a fleet of Joint Strike Force fighters – let alone an aged-care bed. A stable population saves billions.