Currently Australia seems consumed by concerns about population size, boat people and the role of immigration, and while both sides of politics have expressed enthusiasm for the general idea of a population policy for Australia so far absolutely nothing has happened.

As one commentator recently remarked, so far discussion has been full of populist platitudes, and there is no 'policy' just loose statements about 'a big Australia', 'sustainability' and illegal immigrants. There seems little doubt that the current debate about such things has become trapped in fruitless disputes about whether a population of 36 million will be good or bad, and whether or not we should send illegal migrants home.

Despite endless references to a Population Policy we seem no closer to defining what we need and how we will actually get it. In fact most comments seem to show a total ignorance of what such a policy should include. But first some basics. It is true that Australia's population is increasing at a rate which is faster than nearly every other developed nation. It is also true that migration is playing a major role in this increase. It is equally true that fertility has been low for the past few decades and that the Australian population is ageing rapidly.

Population policies are deliberately constructed so that governments can influence, directly and indirectly, demographic, social and economic change. They are not just about broad wishy-washy statements about having a smaller population, sustainability issues or stopping the boat people. They are about the nitty gritty of population dynamics - fertility, mortality and migration, and how such things determine population growth and sculpt the Australian society of today and tomorrow.

They are also about the compositional factors of a population, things like, age structure, family structure, health status, ethnicity, race, employment and housing to name just a few. But what role does the modern state have in such things?

Well the answer is clear with respect to immigration. The regulation of the movement of people into Australia is clearly defined as a public good. The latest figures suggest about two-thirds of all arrivals in Australia are people on temporary visas of which students make up the majority. Permanent migrants by contrast were less than half of this number.

Such migration is the driving force of population growth in Australia and there is little doubt that it has increased markedly in recent years. Perhaps it is time to have a Population Policy which looks at such things and decides what is best for Australia and not simply for the income of a handful of tertiary institutions. Such a policy should not simply be framed in economic terms but must also take into account the social and cultural dimensions of migration as well as Australia's international obligations.

The role of the state in fertility is perhaps more contentious. Establishing a family is often the result of a number of individual and personal decisions concerning childbearing. These decisions reflect such things as personal circumstances, stage in the life cycle, and the costs and benefits of having children.

In many ways governments influence the social and economic environment in which such decisions are made. There is much that the state can do to provide a conducive environment for childbearing. Things like birth and child allowances, maternity leave, assistance with the cost of schooling, reduced medical and dental costs for children still at school.

Health and health care are also critical issues to be considered. Hopefully a population policy would spell out the fact that all Australians have a right to health care without let or hindrance as a basic human right. And what about mortality? Surely the state has a responsibility for delaying the onset of death in its citizens and for ensuring the quality of death? There seems little doubt that with a rapidly ageing population and increasing longevity, demand for end-of-life care and assistance will rise sharply. All this goes to the very heart of palliative care, drug availability, institutional care, and yes, euthanasia and physician-assisted death. If it is part of the state's responsibility to provide good health to all its citizens, then it is also a responsibility to stave off death and to manage the end of life in a civilised, supportive and empathetic manner. And without doubt any such policy should include discussion of the fact that within 20 or so years, one in every four Australians will be aged over 65.

The implications of a rapidly ageing population are profound particularly in the context of declining workforce numbers and the implications for pension and health care costs. All these things, as well as issues relating to family structure, ethnicity and race, housing, and employment, need to be part of an integrated Population Policy that reaches beyond mere statements about closing the door on immigration or controlling population growth to save us from urban congestion. Such a Policy needs to be all inclusive and provide a blueprint for the sort of Australia we want in the next 20-50 years.

Population goes to the very heart of Australia and people are the real wealth of our country. It is not only the number of people which matters, but also their skills, abilities, compositional factors and health status. They are the critical human capital which Australia has a responsibility to preserve, protect and bolster. Hopefully our politicians will come to realise such things and finally produce the Population Policy that we deserve to have.

Peter Curson is Professor of Population and Security in the Centre for International Security Studies at the University of Sydney.