Dick Smith sounds the alarm over Australia's immigration - as he points to a much larger issue than housing

By ASHLEY NICKEL, NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA Published: 10:51, 3 June 2026 | Updated: 10:56, 3 June 2026 Businessman Dick Smith has called for the Albanese government to stop letting record numbers of immigrants in, before the country's resources run dry. The Australian population hit the 28million milestone on Tuesday, and on Wednesday Smith questioned whether Australia, the driest inhabited continent on the planet, could sustain numbers much larger than what has been reached. Smith urged the government to lower the level of overseas arrivals as Bureau of Statistics data this week showed that another person is added every 75 seconds, which is courtesy of immigration, rather than the country's plateauing birth rate. 'The natural birth rate is less than replacement level because Australian families are sensible. They all have a population plan,' Smith told the Daily Telegraph. 'But our politicians have no similar plan for Australia. They should be able to say what would be a good population that we can give a good life to and an optimum population we can give a good life to. 'I think it's certainly less than 30 million.' Smith added that he's pro-immigration, given Australia needs more skilled workers and has a declining birth rate, but only to a number that resources can support. The multi-millionaire pointed to the Murray Darling Basin, Australia's largest and most complex river system which has suffered with long-term droughts for decades. Dick Smith (above) called on the government to limit the amount of immigrants coming in Australia's population ticked over 28 million on Tuesday 'When we double our population, we're going to end up with twice the problem of not enough water to grow enough food,' he said.  As Australia's population ticked past 28million on Tuesday, the ABS forecasts it will surge at a more rapid rate over the next few decades. Its projections estimate the country will reach a population of 30million in the next five years and 45 million before 2070. That data indicates a baby born today will be alive to see Australia's population reach 100million.  The massive increase is largely being driven by record levels of immigration. Immigration refers to people permanently settling in Australia from overseas while migration more widely refers to temporary travel. The ABS claimed one baby is born in Australia every two minutes and 16 seconds while one person arrives to live in Australia every 59 seconds. Overall, that makes the population grows by the one person roughly every 75 seconds figure. Smith highlighted how a massive population boom could strain already struggling water systems - like parts of the Murray Darling Basin (pictured during the 2019 drought) Looking at Smith's example of the Murray Darling Basin, the network currently supports over 2.4 million people and 40 per cent of Australia's agriculture - including 100 per cent of our rice, 74 per cent of our grapes and 30 per cent of our dairy. If the population in the area were to significantly increase, it would strain the water supply - which is already susceptible to drought.  Most Aussies will remember two of the Basin's biggest droughts - the Millennium drought from 1997 to 2010 and the Tinderbox drought from 2017 to 2019. Reports submitted to the Treasury found that in the 12 months to June 2003 alone, farm production fell by 24.3 per cent and agricultural income dropped by 46.2 per cent. Food prices went up around Australia and roughly 100,000 agricultural jobs were affected. While the rural communities dependant on the Basin are unlikely to face the same boom in immigrant population as metropolitan areas, the figures paint a damning picture. Smith called for the government to urgently consider how many people Australia can actually sustain.  'Not one political party has a population policy, it's quite amazing. Even the Greens, who you think would have a population policy, have none,' he said. 'It's completely irresponsible because a typical Australian family can have 20 children in their lifetime but none do. 'All parents have a population plan but our politicians have no population plan for the country as a whole.' No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. 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