VICTORIA'S state opposition planning spokesman Matthew Guy has broken from the political climate of fear on population growth and thrown his full support behind a bigger Victoria.
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His comments appear to contradict the federal Coalition's warnings on population growth and sit uncomfortably with the ''stop the boats'' mantra of federal Liberal leader Tony Abbott.
At a Property Council population summit in Melbourne yesterday, Mr Guy said the state opposition was ''very supportive of population growth''.
''We do not fear population growth; it is good for Victoria,'' he said.
Mr Guy said that as the son of a post-war migrant to Australia, it was natural for him to support population growth.
''We don't see it as a negative; we see opportunities,'' he said.
He said Melbourne was growing by 95,000 people - the population of Ballarat - every year and the challenge was to better plan for the growth.
Mr Abbott has campaigned on a ''stop the boats'' policy platform for Saturday's federal election and his population policy calls for ''guard rails'' on population growth and for reducing immigration levels.
''The Coalition believes it is necessary to ease population growth to deliver more sustainable population levels, based on our present and future capacity, so that our infrastructure, services and environment can catch up,'' Mr Abbott's election policy says.
''Under Labor, migration-fuelled population growth has caused Australians to become increasingly concerned, and to lose confidence in our broader immigration program.''
It is not just Mr Abbott who has attacked population growth.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard has junked former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's belief in a ''big Australia'' since coming to office.
Support for population growth appears stronger among state politicians, particularly in Victoria.
In 2008, state Opposition Leader Ted Baillieu declared himself a supporter of strong population growth.
He told the Liberal Party State Council to ''be careful when you discuss these things … If we put out the stop sign then we are sending the wrong messages, and this economy will suffer long-term.''
Earlier this year, Premier John Brumby said Victoria's annual population growth of 2.2 per cent was above the level he was comfortable with. He has said continued population growth is needed to deal with the prevalent issue of an ageing population.
