CANBERRA, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has criticized the nation's states and territories for failing to cope with strong population growth.
In an interview with News Corp Australia to mark his 100th day in office, Morrison expressed his concern about the "lack of population planning" by state and territory governments.
"My frustration has been that the migration program has been insufficiently informed by the carrying capacity of state and territory infrastructure," he said on Sunday.
"We decide what the annual intake is and we manage the temporary intake which is much bigger in terms of population growth.
"You guys (the states and territories) have planning departments, you know where the houses are going to be built, you're deciding where the schools are, you are deciding where the roads are.
"I am frustrated about the lack of population planning."
Morrison was sworn-in as Australia's 30th Prime Minister in August after his predecessor, Malcolm Turnbull, was deposed by the governing Liberal Party.
However, the party's performance in opinion polls has been worse under Morrison's leadership to the point where it is facing a landslide defeat in the 2019 general election.
Despite polls projecting that the opposition Australian Labor Party (ALP) could win as many as 90 out of 150 seats in the lower house of Australian Parliament, the House of Representatives, Morrison on Sunday said he could still win the election.
The Liberal Party and Morrison were dealt a significant blow late in November when Julia Banks, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Chisholm in Melbourne's eastern suburbs, announced she was quitting the party to sit in Parliament as an independent, citing sexism and bullying as the reasons behind her decision.
Banks' defection left Morrison's government with only 74 out of 150 seats in the House of Representatives; two short of the 76 required to pass legislation through the house.
"As a leader, you have to deal with whatever comes your way," Morrison said.
