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Australian Demographic and Social Research Institute head, Professor Peter McDonald, says the political debate over population is in danger of scapegoating migrants to cover up for a lack of adequate government planning. McDonald doesn't think Australia's immigration levels will drop off as demand for workers is too strong. Prime Minister Julia Gillard has focused heavily on the pressures facing big cities as Australia's population grows and has declared that she does not believe in a "big" Australia. As the outer suburbs of cities such as Melbourne and Brisbane struggle to deal with traffic and congestion problems, Professor McDonald has told Radio National that the debate is unfairly targeting migrants. Professor McDonald says migrants will be needed to fill jobs as the mining boom continues and baby boomers retire, making immigration inevitable as a way of meeting labour demand. The issue is one of better management of population growth, he says.

Excerpt from: ABC News (www. abc. net. au), 22 July 2010