For wealthy people like myself, we'd have more customers to buy our goods so we'd make more money, but for just about every other Sydneysider it would be all downhill. We could end up like Mumbai or Tokyo. How is it that leading world cities such as Geneva and Amsterdam, with just half a million people, stay the same size and maintain a great quality of life, yet we are told Sydney has to keep growing? Sydney is now at a population sweet point where we have a very good quality of life. We can consolidate now to provide better transport and infrastructure. If we raise the population, we'll never catch up. One day we have to stop growing before we only have one square inch each . We should do it now.

Taxing times James Allnutt: director, Deloittes Access Economics, with interest in demographics NSW's population growth is below the national average, rising just 1.4 per cent in the last year, and has been for a long time. Since the population stopped growing, NSW - and therefore Sydney - has consistently struggled economically. The main reason people are against population growth is that they see more people means more crowding. But a broader view might say that having more people provides a base for more economic growth, more opportunity and, on another level, a more cosmopolitan attitude. Last year marked 65 years since the start of the baby boom. That generation is starting to enter retirement age. We are getting to the point where the taxpayer base will not grow as fast as the population base.

You will have more people to fund services but fewer people paying for it. __________________________________________________ Of course Sydney isn't full. We are in fact quite thinly populated for a major world city of our physical extent. Very liveable cities with about our population at higher densities include Berlin, San Francisco and Barcelona. We could double and double again, without paving over another single field in the Sydney basin, and still not be in the top 20 most densely populated cities. There may be good arguments against further growth, but being ''full'' is not one of them. Andrew Taubman, Queens Park Bob Carr and Barry O'Farrell are both correct. Carr is correct that Sydney cannot support a much larger population; O'Farrell is correct that the problem is poor planning. The ridiculous road system and laughable public transport create congestion; many suburbs lack adequate green space or adequate services; new suburbs are built without decent telecommunications; and the general effect is a shambles where the detritus of slaughterhouses flows unhindered down the roads, covering everything in offal. The problem with O'Farrell's position is that he wants to boost the population before fixing the problems. ''Chuck another couple of million into Sydney,'' cry the population-boosters, ''and planning problems will take care of themselves!'' It's going to be harder to fix the problems if the population increases.

James Pearce, Cuernavaca, Mexico (originally from Drummoyne)

Sydney is not full - it has a great hole in the middle of it, big enough to build another city. Town planners, the government and real estate agents will be over the moon with this audacious plan to fill Sydney up. The first step is to fill in the polluted harbour with rubbish and fill from building sites and motorways. The Parramatta river can flow through pipes out to sea carrying the new city's sewage. This will create a large expanse of land ready for building. I can't wait to buy a townhouse next to the Opera House and take advantage of the Botanic Gardens and city shops. The Coathanger can stay for fireworks displays. Anthony York, Rooty Hill



Sydney is full until the government bites the bullet and borrows to construct a second rail harbour crossing, completes the F3, M4 and M5 extensions and the Epping to Chatswood Rail Link. Increasing immigration before the necessary housing is built, and before the transport links are put in place, will only exacerbate the population pressures we are already subject to. Deficit is not a dirty word when it removes transport bottlenecks and increases our quality of life. Tim Casey, Ultimo

From another perspective the question might be: ''Is the bush empty?'' Concentrations of population can have some advantages in terms of economy of scale in providing a wider range of services. Or so the myth goes. But when the result is that Sydney has the highest accommodation costs on the continent, you have to ask: is adding to an already crowded city economically justified? As a refugee from Sydney who ''went bush'' to a regional city I have found that the range of services is almost as good as in Sydney and much more accessible and cheaper. Not to mention the lower cost of living. Some facilities are better, not to mention the lifestyle. Peter Hitchcock, AM, Cairns



Deep in the bowels of a grimy state government hive, a soot-blackened drone sweats nervously over a glowing red spreadsheet. Grubby, desperate fingers check and review the figures. Spin, tweak and arithmetic massage are liberally applied - but with a racking sob and squeal of capitulation, the analysts surrender to the perfidious looming truth: NSW is in deep economic trouble. Howls of fury reverberate down the black halls as word reaches the antechamber of the Premier. The man himself stands swollen with rage, every pore radiating menace into the trembling forms of his hastily marshalled employees - puffing ever larger with the threat of violence. A calming, spidery hand alights on the Premier's shoulder. The Deputy - his voice liquid reassurance: ''Don't worry, we'll create a diversion - something divisive. Yes, and sensational.'' For a second his black, shark-cruel eyes light up with inspiration and the word escapes like a hiss: ''Immigrantssss.'' And all across Sydney, from the marbled east to the gardened west, Sydneysiders, tired of the rhetoric, ask themselves not so much whether Sydney is full, but what its government is full of. Dan Watson, Chippendale

Consider a balloon as infrastructure. Fill that balloon with water (the population) and the infrastructure automatically grows with it to contain and service that water. In Sydney, our infrastructure is not a balloon, but rather it is the internal wax, watertight lining of a small cardboard box. We keep adding water to the box, but the box cannot grow and when water is added to the box, it overflows above the wax lining, down the uncoated outside of the box. Eventually the unlined cardboard breaks down and can no longer support the water it holds. Until we build a flexible infrastructure, we need to protect what little we have and the population it miserably serves.

Justin Ibrahim, Abbotsford

The current NIMBY-ism of Sydneysiders and the pandering of the O'Farrell government (in switching development to greenfields rather than building up in the inner and middle suburbs) simply perpetuates our congestion, pollution, distance from our jobs and lack of decent public transport. Taking prime farming land and turning it into ''McMansion'' subdevelopments simply repeats the errors our previous governments made in the past 30 years which left us with the public transport-starved and car-dependent north-west. Until the approach changes, we should all shout from the rooftops: ''WE ARE FULL!'' Matthew Skinner, Georges Hall



Is Sydney full? It's a leading question along the lines of how long is a piece of string, leaving the airwaves open to all manner of xenophobic diatribe. In truth, however, Sydney is too full - not enough rental properties reasonably priced; not enough jobs for qualified professionals, driving salaries down; and an overabundance of highly qualified and experienced people in less than satisfying jobs. Wouldn't it be against human rights to subject or actually invite people into this miasma? However, come and visit, we need the tourist dollars. Ramona Blaquiere, Lavender Bay

Sydney isn't even close to being full. ''Full of it'' maybe, but not full. Alison Fowler, Alexandria



As a recent immigrant – in other words, part of the problem – I can only agree with the sentiment "Sydney is full". When I arrived here in early 2010, I was shocked by Sydney's awful infrastructure and public transport, unbelievable congestion and appalling rental prices. Unfortunately, I had to work one year in a company's CBD office. Luckily, last year I was able to land a decent job in Parramatta, so I no longer have to use terrible Sydney transport. Since then, I've never been to the CBD and have no intention of going there. "CBD? Sorry, not interested," became my first line when I talked to job agents – being a highly skilled and sought-after IT engineer, I can afford that little whim. I will consider moving to Canberra, Adelaide, Brisbane or even Alice Springs rather than getting back to the skyscraper hell of Sydney's CBD. Egor Kolesnikov, Westmead



The issue is not about evermore immigrants. It is about evermore population growth, which also comes from natural increase. At the present time when births (300,000) are double deaths (150,000), the Australian government is using taxpayer funds to subsidise large families. The latest research shows that 73 per cent of Australians prefer a stable population over a big Australia. This demonstrates that Barry O'Farrell is out of step with the community. The newly federally registered Stable Population Party was formed to give all Australians a choice on population and the quality of life we pass on. If our community party is successful, population growth-addicted premiers like Barry O'Farrell will have to focus on a smart economy strategy based on high value productive innovation. At present he's hooked on a dumb economy mantra that promotes bigger quarries and endless housing overdevelopment and sprawl. We deserve much better. At the next federal election, all Sydneysiders and all Australians will have the choice for a stable and sustainable Australia. William Bourke, Founder, Stable Population Party, Wollstonecraft

Whether Sydney is full or not is a moot point. Barry O'Farrell should remember that he is the Premier of a state, not a city, and the best way to grow the economy is through strategic decentralisation. Many people would gladly escape Sydney's urban sprawl and high land prices for the clean air, lower housing costs and short travel times if good jobs were available. With smart planning this state could tap into the markets offered by Queensland and Victoria, without abandoning the Sydney and offshore markets, by developing businesses and services in key locations. The end result would be economic growth and a better quality of life for everyone. Ted Reedy, Bathurst



Seemingly, most of our politicians are delusional and blinkered about a sustainable population. Greg Hunt, shadow federal minister for the environment, inter alia, can't see the impossibility of adding hundreds of thousands to western Sydney while at the same time preserving our remnant prime farm land and conservation areas. Now the state government is driving the same crusade, yet decries the infrastructure deficit. Neither they, nor their predecessors, understand that, at our current rate of population growth, about half the infrastructure requirement is for future residents. No wonder the providers of infrastructure can't keep up. Who benefits from this growth? Largely big business, with more customers, and developers. Who loses? Those who suffer the increased congestion, high-rise imprisonment, thinner sharing of natural resources, longer queues, longer commuting and more crowded open spaces. So too, our natural systems, that provide us with clean food, air and water. Peter W Green, Faulconbridge



Most of the current infrastructure in Sydney in the form of rail, roads, water, electricity, was planned for a city half the size of Sydney today. Without the increase in the capacity of the infrastructure the answer to whether Sydney is full must be an unequivocal “YES!” However, with the appropriate planning and expansion of the infrastructure, and encouragement to take advantage of technology to decentralise, rather than crawl like snails to the central business district every day, then Sydney could probably support more people than it does now. A “smart” city. But given our government's track record in planning and then effectively implementing such improvements, then the likelihood of that is slim indeed. Imants Dute, Forestville



I'm in support for Barry's vision to bring the good quality and skilled migrants. At the moment in Sydney we have got too many unskilled, unemployed migrant and dole bludgers, so how are we going to make Sydney a safer environment to attract these skilled migrants to want to live here? Illegal immigrantd are also another issue due to Sydney businesses tending to hire cheap labour in order to make more profit. The cost of living in Sydney is much higher than other cities, with less quality for what you paying for, and the public transport and infrastructure are shocking. For example, in Melbourne and Brisbane there are freeways for motorist to use - Sydney has none (taxpayers get a better run for their money in other states). VIC Road in Melbourne vehicle registration green slip is included so total registration of a car is around $400 to $600 per year. In Sydney we have to pay RTA $400 for rego, then Insurance Company around $400-$800 for green slip depends on the type of use of the vehicle so total car rego is between $800 to $1200 per year. If our state is not competitive enough then skilled migrants would not want to invest their money here in Sydney. Jeanny Morris, Baulkham Hills



Yes, of course Sydney is full. I grew up there in idyllic circumstances in the 1950s and 60s, between harbour and ocean. But as I brought up my children in the inner western suburbs in the 1970s and 80s, the roads were becoming increasingly congested. It would take an hour from the city to Annandale on the bus. I left, relieved to escape, 25 years ago. Now, on visits, it's so crowded the city has lost most of its appeal. The harbour and ocean are there but only really accessible to that fraction of the population who can afford to live east of the bridge. It was cosmopolitan and exciting enough in the 1970s – further growth has only been negative. Jenny Goldie, Michelago

If we consider the idea that the roads are congested, why not consider the possibility of making cars half the width? I know a bloke in Winterthur, Switzerland who makes very efficient vehicles basically along the lines of an enclosed motor cycle which is a really sensible idea. Not so long ago, I had two small cars in which the passenger sat behind the driver and the whole thing ran on a two stroke motor. Only about a metre wide! They were quite sufficient for many purposes. The attitude change that we need is to make it easier to get such ideas approved for road usage. If we think that suburban housing needs to be redesigned, lets look at the real practicality of houses in which you can't do much except watch TV. Living in a large open space, ie a shed, gives me so much more flexibility at very low cost. Why are commercial buildings built so much more cost efficiently? Why do houses have to be the way they are? Better still, its so easy to build a home out of recycled materials, including earth, and avoid crippling yourself with a mortgage. The whole solution to whether Sydney is full, is that we simply need to reconsider our fixed ideas about what should be the way things are. Most houses have to be renovated, or are substantially obsolete in 30 years or so, anyway. Divorce quickly puts an end to grand ideas about permanency. These ideas might be a bit lateral, but surely that's better than pursuing the same old solutions. Rod Yates, Arcadia



I don't know that it's full but it's definitely pretty close to it, judging by the traffic. What the state government needs to do is encourage migrants to move to regional areas. Initially for the government, this is as simple as relocating public servants outside the CBD, which in turn will promote the movement of plumbers and electricians and hairdressers etc etc which in turn will revitalise the towns. In the world of the Interweb, you don't need to be in Sydney to work. Less traffic in Sydney, more jobs in the regions, what's not to like? There are large numbers of people who commute from Wollongong and the Central Coast to Sydney to work every day, to do work that they could just as easily do in Wollongong or the Central Coast. Peter Butler, Balgownie

So what if Barry O'Farrell blames "poor planning by governments - not immigration - for population pressures". Pointing his finger at poor government does nothing to solve those population pressures. Neither does his apportioning of blame justify further increasing those population pressures with immigration. Indeed, just the opposite applies! Sydney IS full and as since Barry O'Farrell has acknowledged existing population pressures, he must turn his government's attention to alleviating them, not adding to them. Enough said.

Irene Buckler, Glenwood

NSW's pro-immigration Premier wants to open the door to more skilled business migrants and international students with the misconstrued aim to "help revive the state's economy". It's a pyramid, Ponzi-like economic model, that adding more people will bring in economic benefits, and the multi-faceted costs of growth are non-existent. Ageing population, perceived lack of skills, funding for infrastructure etc? Solution - just add people ! Planners can not magically provide the silver bullet to create space for human-friendly environments, and a balance with natural resources, under the pressure-cooker stress of rampant population growth.

Australia should be leading the world with sustainable population policies, and ensuring quality of life on a global level. There is no necessary connection between bigger and expanding populations and economic growth. With respect to per capita GDP, 8 of the top 10 nations in per capita GDP have populations less than 10 million. Vivienne Ortega, Heidelberg Heights, Victoria

As a recent immigrant – in other words, part of the problem – I can only agree with the sentiment "Sydney is full". When I arrived here in early 2010, I was shocked by Sydney's awful infrastructure and public transport, unbelievable congestion and appalling rental prices. Unfortunately, I had to work one year in a company's CBD office. Luckily, last year I was able to land a decent job in Parramatta, so I no longer have to use terrible Sydney transport. Since then, I've never been to the CBD and have no intention of going there. "CBD? Sorry, not interested," became my first line when I talked to job agents – being a highly skilled and sought-after IT engineer, I can afford that little whim. I will consider moving to Canberra, Adelaide, Brisbane or even Alice Springs rather than getting back to the skyscraper hell of Sydney's CBD.

Egor Kolesnikov, Westmead The issue is not about evermore immigrants. It is about evermore population growth, which also comes from natural increase. At the present time when births (300,000) are double deaths (150,000), the Australian government is using taxpayer funds to subsidise large families. The latest research shows that 73 per cent of Australians prefer a stable population over a big Australia. This demonstrates that Barry O'Farrell is out of step with the community. The newly federally registered Stable Population Party was formed to give all Australians a choice on population and the quality of life we pass on. If our community party is successful, population growth-addicted premiers like Barry O'Farrell will have to focus on a smart economy strategy based on high value productive innovation. At present he's hooked on a dumb economy mantra that promotes bigger quarries and endless housing overdevelopment and sprawl. We deserve much better. At the next federal election, all Sydneysiders and all Australians will have the choice for a stable and sustainable Australia. William Bourke, Founder, Stable Population Party, Wollstonecraft Whether Sydney is full or not is a moot point. Barry O'Farrell should remember that he is the Premier of a state, not a city, and the best way to grow the economy is through strategic decentralisation. Many people would gladly escape Sydney's urban sprawl and high land prices for the clean air, lower housing costs and short travel times if good jobs were available. With smart planning this state could tap into the markets offered by Queensland and Victoria, without abandoning the Sydney and offshore markets, by developing businesses and services in key locations. The end result would be economic growth and a better quality of life for everyone. Ted Reedy, Bathurst

Seemingly, most of our politicians are delusional and blinkered about a sustainable population. Greg Hunt, shadow federal minister for the environment, inter alia, can't see the impossibility of adding hundreds of thousands to western Sydney while at the same time preserving our remnant prime farm land and conservation areas. Now the state government is driving the same crusade, yet decries the infrastructure deficit. Neither they, nor their predecessors, understand that, at our current rate of population growth, about half the infrastructure requirement is for future residents. No wonder the providers of infrastructure can't keep up. Who benefits from this growth? Largely big business, with more customers, and developers. Who loses? Those who suffer the increased congestion, high-rise imprisonment, thinner sharing of natural resources, longer queues, longer commuting and more crowded open spaces. So too, our natural systems, that provide us with clean food, air and water. Peter W Green, Faulconbridge Most of the current infrastructure in Sydney in the form of rail, roads, water, electricity, was planned for a city half the size of Sydney today. Without the increase in the capacity of the infrastructure the answer to whether Sydney is full must be an unequivocal “YES!” However, with the appropriate planning and expansion of the infrastructure, and encouragement to take advantage of technology to decentralise, rather than crawl like snails to the central business district every day, then Sydney could probably support more people than it does now. A “smart” city. But given our government's track record in planning and then effectively implementing such improvements, then the likelihood of that is slim indeed. Imants Dute, Forestville I'm in support for Barry's vision to bring the good quality and skilled migrants. At the moment in Sydney we have got too many unskilled, unemployed migrant and dole bludgers, so how are we going to make Sydney a safer environment to attract these skilled migrants to want to live here? Illegal immigrantd are also another issue due to Sydney businesses tending to hire cheap labour in order to make more profit. The cost of living in Sydney is much higher than other cities, with less quality for what you paying for, and the public transport and infrastructure are shocking. For example, in Melbourne and Brisbane there are freeways for motorist to use - Sydney has none (taxpayers get a better run for their money in other states). VIC Road in Melbourne vehicle registration green slip is included so total registration of a car is around $400 to $600 per year. In Sydney we have to pay RTA $400 for rego, then Insurance Company around $400-$800 for green slip depends on the type of use of the vehicle so total car rego is between $800 to $1200 per year. If our state is not competitive enough then skilled migrants would not want to invest their money here in Sydney.

Jeanny Morris, Baulkham Hills Yes, of course Sydney is full. I grew up there in idyllic circumstances in the 1950s and 60s, between harbour and ocean. But as I brought up my children in the inner western suburbs in the 1970s and 80s, the roads were becoming increasingly congested. It would take an hour from the city to Annandale on the bus. I left, relieved to escape, 25 years ago. Now, on visits, it's so crowded the city has lost most of its appeal. The harbour and ocean are there but only really accessible to that fraction of the population who can afford to live east of the bridge. It was cosmopolitan and exciting enough in the 1970s – further growth has only been negative. Jenny Goldie, Michelago If we consider the idea that the roads are congested, why not consider the possibility of making cars half the width? I know a bloke in Winterthur, Switzerland who makes very efficient vehicles basically along the lines of an enclosed motor cycle which is a really sensible idea. Not so long ago, I had two small cars in which the passenger sat behind the driver and the whole thing ran on a two stroke motor. Only about a metre wide! They were quite sufficient for many purposes. The attitude change that we need is to make it easier to get such ideas approved for road usage. If we think that suburban housing needs to be redesigned, lets look at the real practicality of houses in which you can't do much except watch TV. Living in a large open space, ie a shed, gives me so much more flexibility at very low cost. Why are commercial buildings built so much more cost efficiently? Why do houses have to be the way they are? Better still, its so easy to build a home out of recycled materials, including earth, and avoid crippling yourself with a mortgage. The whole solution to whether Sydney is full, is that we simply need to reconsider our fixed ideas about what should be the way things are. Most houses have to be renovated, or are substantially obsolete in 30 years or so, anyway. Divorce quickly puts an end to grand ideas about permanency. These ideas might be a bit lateral, but surely that's better than pursuing the same old solutions. Rod Yates, Arcadia

I don't know that it's full but it's definitely pretty close to it, judging by the traffic. What the state government needs to do is encourage migrants to move to regional areas. Initially for the government, this is as simple as relocating public servants outside the CBD, which in turn will promote the movement of plumbers and electricians and hairdressers etc etc which in turn will revitalise the towns. In the world of the Interweb, you don't need to be in Sydney to work. Less traffic in Sydney, more jobs in the regions, what's not to like? There are large numbers of people who commute from Wollongong and the Central Coast to Sydney to work every day, to do work that they could just as easily do in Wollongong or the Central Coast. Peter Butler, Balgownie So what if Barry O'Farrell blames "poor planning by governments - not immigration - for population pressures". Pointing his finger at poor government does nothing to solve those population pressures. Neither does his apportioning of blame justify further increasing those population pressures with immigration. Indeed, just the opposite applies! Sydney IS full and as since Barry O'Farrell has acknowledged existing population pressures, he must turn his government's attention to alleviating them, not adding to them. Enough said. Irene Buckler, Glenwood Email your views to loadeddog@sunherald.com.au