Govt frets about Melbourne population boom

SYDNEY, April 3 (AAP) - Melbourne's booming population has become a concern to the Victorian government which claims its predecessor failed to plan for it.
More than 1,500 people a week are flooding into Melbourne, with the city's outer suburbs taking over as the nation's fastest growing centres.
Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show that since 2001, Melbourne has gained 605,000 new residents compared to 447,000 in Sydney, 380,000 in Brisbane, and 303,000 in Perth.
The four fastest-growing municipalities in the country are on Melbourne's northern, eastern and western outskirts, leading to fears that towns bordering on the outer suburbs will be swallowed up.
But Mr Baillieu offered a guarded response to the figures, saying his government had been left in a position where it had to invest to catch up, rather than invest for the future.
The premier said the trend until now had been for governments to rely on population increases for growth of the state economy.
"What we've seen is population growth becoming an end in itself," Mr Baillieu said.
"The previous government became dependent on population growth for economic growth.
"That was a signal that we were over-dependent for economic activity, on population growth, and in turn housing and construction."
Mr Baillieu said there needed to be more planning and infrastructure to provide for the larger population.
"There has to be planning and there has to be facilities, infrastructure and all the services that are provided in a first-class community," he said.
"Any government would like to invest for the future but we're in a position where we have to invest to catch up.
"It's not something we can do overnight."
For the ninth year in a row Melbourne grew the fastest of any Australian city with an estimated 79,000 people, or more than 1,500 a week making new homes in the city.
Melbourne's population of about 4.1 million is within 500,000 of Sydney for the first time in 30 years.