The Generator

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But they doubt the ability of government to deliver the necessary infrastructure.

According to research completed for Infrastructure Partnerships Australia, voters blame politicians' unwillingness to make long-term plans and the fact that responsibility for infrastructure is split between too many levels of government.

They would be prepared to accept significant increases in population density but only with the right infrastructure in place, particularly rapid mass transit rail systems. The findings by GA Research are to be presented to a major IPA conference in Melbourne today and reflect the extreme political sensitivity over Australia's population levels in the election campaign.

Both parties are trying to distance themselves from the idea of a big Australia, with the Liberals pledging to put a cap on annual immigration and Labor insisting the high levels of recent years are already coming down.

The research shows that people in Australia's biggest cities understand population growth cannot be avoided and that 27 per cent of respondents overall feel their their quality of life will get worse as a result.

But there are significant regional differences, with 36 per cent of Sydneysiders feeling pessimistic about this compared with 23 per cent in Brisbane and 21 per cent in Melbourne.

In contrast, only 22 per cent of Sydneysiders believe their quality of life will improve compared with 40 per cent of Brisbane residents.

The issue of population growth combined with inadequate services is particularly controversial in western Sydney, with Prime Minister Julia Gillard repeatedly suggesting there is not enough room to fit all these people without making any commitments on new infrastructure.

"The community resents being treated as fools," GA Research head Sue Vercoe said. "They want governments to make the hard calls and be prepared to explain the rationale behind their thinking but not to delay these important decisions for the sake of short-term political advantage."

But the focus group work in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne also reveals a lack of understanding of where the money would come from to fund significant new infrastructure, with most people assuming the government should be able to pay for what is required.

While Labor has promoted its increased investment in infrastructure over the past few years, the massive funding required means it is essential to involve the private sector even though neither major party is talking about this.

"Very few (respondents) know what public-private partnerships are and misunderstandings about them are rife," the researchers said.

The study shows that people are willing to change their own behaviour, particularly in relation to water and power use, although they acknowledge this might require extra charges or more regulation.

As well as better public transport, people want a more decentralised approach to living and working and a greater focus on renewable energy.