2.50 per cent, that born in Asia by 4.47 per cent, that aged less than 15 years by only
0.46 per cent. Interstate annual population growth rates currently (1999–2000) vary
between 1.7 per cent (Queensland) and –0.1 per cent (Tasmania), while massive differences
exist in the direction, scale and components of population change in
regions and communities.
This paper takes the approach not so much of predicting the future as of exploring
what will happen if demographic trends and tendencies evident in the mid- to
late 1990s continue to evolve in the directions they seem to be moving in. No startling
predictions are made of major reversals of trends. Instead the emphasis is
placed on what seems likely given current trends and patterns in other developed
societies. In many respects Australia’s current situation is in the middle among
OECD nations, and seems to have further to go in some areas, including population
distribution
