Billionaire Richard Branson has urged politicians to support big Australia by encouraging rich people like himself to live here.

According to him, Australia will be able to guarantee a stable economic future by boosting immigration.

He admitted that his remarks would not create a huge impact, considering that reducing immigration had become a key issue in the midst of Australia's election campaign.

However, Sir Richard said that Australians should "relax a bit" with regards to population growth because "the lack of people" inhabiting such "an enormous land mass" was a weakness.

"Australia would benefit from a bigger population," he told The Sunday Telegraph in an interview.

"You can definitely take more.

"A bigger population would create a much bigger economy without negatively affecting the people's way of life."

He said Australia can increase its population by encouraging wealthy citizens in other countries to move here.

He explained that Canada made use of this strategy during the 1990s when rich people from Hong Kong feared that China was going to reclaim the city in 1997 and opted to move there.

"It really propelled Canada forward.

"Australia can be choosy and this can help strengthen the economy in the same way. If it's good for Australia, it's good for business generally."

The proposition is inc ontrast with what the nation's political leaders are pushing for.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard last month said the nation should "take a breath" and not plunge into "a big Australia".

Opposition leader Tony Abbott said a Coalition government would almost reduce the rates of migration and population growth from 300,000 annual arrivals to 170,000.