Forum Home
PC World Chat
 
Thread ID: 84879 2007-11-21 19:57:00 What is NZ's ideal population ? Digby (677) PC World Chat
Post ID Timestamp Content User
613782 2007-11-21 19:57:00 In view of the large number of kiwi's leaving NZ what is your ideal population for New Zealand ?

We are about 4 million now. I came here when we had 2.5 million. I have always thought that NZ's population is too low for several reasons. Economies of scale for manufacturing and distribution, only one road from Auckland to Wellington, only one prime minister for more people to pay for etc. Also more opportunities arise from a bigger population. More audiences for artists etc. More vibrancy.

Then there are those that say they like a low population as it keeps our beaches accessible etc.

What population would like by say the year 2020 ?
Digby (677)
613783 2007-11-21 20:00:00 I would like to see the number dropped. A huge cull of people would be great. rob_on_guitar (4196)
613784 2007-11-21 20:00:00 I say 10 million

3 million in Auckland, 1 in Wellington and Christchurch and every other city to double in size !

Preferably plan a new super city in flat land somewhere with good design and public transport and wide roads.

Regards

Digby
Digby (677)
613785 2007-11-21 20:27:00 I doubt 10 million + would fit in NZ.

It'll be too overcrowded.

If the tax wasnt so high, and you got better pay (which is why people are leaving). A lot more people would come / and wouldnt go overseas.
Speedy Gonzales (78)
613786 2007-11-21 20:30:00 I'll answer on behalf of Metla... exactly one less every time someone makes a pointless poll. Greg (193)
613787 2007-11-21 21:46:00 I'd say around 5-6 million. 2.5 million in Auckland, 1.5 in Wellington and the rest scattered around NZ. We need to preserve more natural landscapes for tourism and our image and empty lands to sustain resources. qazwsxokmijn (102)
613788 2007-11-21 22:07:00 1 million.

Everyone else can go move to a big city overseas.
pctek (84)
613789 2007-11-21 22:23:00 1 million.

Everyone else can go move to a big city overseas.

So that means that you would only have a quarter of your customers and a quarter of your income

Regards

Digby
Digby (677)
613790 2007-11-21 22:48:00 Interesting question. A related issue is the population of the world. In my humble opinion the world population needs to be significantly less than it is now if future generations want to enjoy a quality of life on a par with what we experience. However I think NZ needs more people if we want to achieve any sort of economies of scale and international competitiveness. But (again my opinion) the likelihood of us increasing our population while the rest of the decrease theirs (or us increasing at a faster rate) is highly improbable in the absence of an epidemic / world war / continental disaster.

I'd say we need a population of a similar size to some of the small to middle-sized European nations that manage to compete internationally (think Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland or Switzerland). This can be achieved without ruining the environment or turning the country into one big ghetto. But what are the chances that we can grow at a relatively faster rate than other countries? We won't be competitive if we grow by say 20% but the rest of the world grows by say 30% - it is all relative. Insofar as fitting all of these extra people into NZ, consider the size and populations of the UK and Japan with NZ - it is possible to get triple or more the number of people here but who would want that?

Andrew
andrew93 (249)
613791 2007-11-21 23:15:00 10 mil +.

Look at Japan!!! NZ will fit 10 mil easy. Get some decent roads, good public transport, turn the whole of NZ into a Christchurch. :p
wratterus (105)
1 2 3 4 5 6