Sustainable Population Australia

March 13, 2010

When will these politicians and economists get it?

This week the assistant governor (economic) of the Reserve Bank, Philip Lowe, said he would “like to touch on three of the broad challenges . . . . The second is the need to increase the supply of housing for a growing population.”

Wrong, wrong, wrong. The challenge is to reduce the supply of population so that further increases in the supply of housing become unnecessary.

It is not only a “challenge”. It is one of the most important things for Australia to do.

The following is an important message from Bob Carr writing the guest editorial in Getup and all Australians should be made aware of his message.  For this reason we have posted this message in full and you are encouraged to follow the links to support  the Getup campaign (in the text) to save the Redgum Forests from the logging industry.  Sign the petition and tell Peter Garrett to make a difference!

Dear GetUp Members, 

From the air they are bands of green that emerge from the Great Dividing Range and run along the banks of our major rivers as they snake west. On ground they are stately silhouettes, mighty arms akimbo, hefty trunks streaked red on white: statuesque, unmoving, some hundreds of years old but with the look of eternity. The river red gums are the guardians of inland Australia. 

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd recently expressed contrition for his government’s poor performance in delivering on policy commitments, including action on climate change.  Despite this admission, Labor has backed off on pushing the ETS scheme and may even be relieved at the failure of the Copenhagen negotiations to forge a binding international agreement on abatement targets. This is because of the inconsistency between these targets and its ‘Big Australia’ commitment. This is indicated in the Government’s endorsement of  the Third Intergeneration Report’s projection that Australia’s population is likely to reach 35.9 million by 2050.
The Rudd Labor Government has pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Australia by 5 per cent relative to year 2000 levels by 2020. This commitment builds on its signing of the Kyoto Protocol and the stated desire for Australia, as one of the highest per capita emitters of these gases, to contribute to their stabilisation in the atmosphere.

While Prime Minister Rudd told the 7.30 Report in January that he “doesn’t have a view” on whether it is wise for Australia’s population to grow to at least 36 million by 2050, businessman Dick Smith certainly does have a view, and wants people to know it.
 

http://denver.yourhub.com/Denver/Blogs/Your-Voice/Blog~741327.aspx
 
Denver Post Your Hub  February 4, 2010
 
Following the recent loss of life in Haiti, Chile and China due to earthquakes or the loss of life from Hurricane Katrina or the tsunami that killed 100,000 in Sri Lanka in 2005 it reminds me of a 39 year old column by the late Dr. Garrett Hardin: “Nobody ever dies of overpopulation.” It is  reprinted with permission from Science, 12 February 1971, Volume 171, Number 3971, © 1971 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.  ( www.thesocialcontract.com ) Professor Hardin taught in the biology department of the University of California at Santa Barbara. 

 ABC News 

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/03/03/2835782.htm

The CSIRO has released a report showing significant climate change since the mid-1970s has impacted on surface and ground water yields and rainfall over that time has dropped by 10 to 15 per cent.Australia's top scientific research organisation says climate change is responsible for a sharp fall in Western Australia's water resources and that the worst is yet to come.

 Overview 1st February 2010
www.treasury.gov.au/igr/igr2010/report/html/01_Executive_Summary.asp

Australia faces a complex mix of long-term challenges — an ageing and growing population, escalating pressures on the health system, and an environment vulnerable to climate change. These challenges will place substantial pressure on Australia's economy, living standards and government finances over the next 40 years. These are challenges affecting developed countries around the world.

Mr Scott Morrison MP 
Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship
2nd February, 2010
http://www.liberal.org.au/news.php?Id=4622

The release of the third intergenerational report later today must challenge the Rudd Government to develop and implement a coherent population policy, rather than passively accept the forecasts as destiny, Federal Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Scott Morrison said.

 Media Release

Friday, 5 March 2010
 
The Property Council is holding their “The Great Growth Debate” on Friday 5th March.  It is being billed as a symposium on new ideas and solutions to managing Queensland’s burgeoning growth rate.   This is a veiled attempt to disguise its continued lobbying of the State government to release more land, reduce infrastructure charges and minimise the requirements for valid  environmental assessments and protections.   For the developers, there is no “debate” – just their predictable mantra of encouraging population growth at any cost. Ensuring the greatest yield of their significant land holdings to reap the greatest profit with no consideration of the ecological or social impacts of their decisions and actions remains their agenda.