Growing pains: Melbourne set to surpass Sydney in the population stakes

Melbourne could overtake Sydney’s population within the next few years, according to a new report.

In article in The Age by George Megalogenis, it was reported Melbourne is growing at a faster rate than any other capital city.

Tom Elliott described the statistic as “simple but frightening” that Melbourne’s population had grown by one million between 2008-2018, pushing the city’s population above 5 million people.

What is Melbourne going to be like to live in? – Tom Elliott

Bill Kusznirczuk, Managing Director of Clement Stone Town Planners, said it’s important to manage the big ticket items.

“I think what happens whenever you have population growth, governments then focus on how they need to plan to accommodate that growth in the future,” he said on 3AW Drive.

“The age old problem for any government is being able to catch up and make sure the infrastructure, both social and physical infrastructure, is in place for that population in the future.”

He said the population boom brings with it a “myriad of issues”.

“We can only take pride in it if we’ve made sure we’ve planned for the growth scenario that is presented to us,” he said.

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Image: Matt Blyth / Contributor