Media Releases
New animation spells out perils of growth
Sustainable Population Australia (SPA) has launched a new six-minute animation ‘The Endless Growth Paradigm’. It details why it is critical that Australia breaks away from a system of endless population and economic growth. SPA National president, Sandra Kanck, says Australia’s population grows by nearly 400,000 every year, the equivalent of a new Canberra. “At this […]
Summit needs to address whether we want population growth or not
According to Sustainable Population Australia (SPA), today’s Population Summit in Sydney needs to go beyond the issue of accommodating population growth and ask the question: do we actually want it? SPA national president, Ms Sandra Kanck, says the Summit boasts an impressive selection of speakers but none on environmental limits to growth. “Sydney is projected […]
Population growth puts sustainability goals out of reach.
Continuing rapid population growth in poorer countries is putting achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) out of reach, according to Sustainable Population Australia (SPA). The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) brought into effect the 17 SDGs in January 2016 and they will continue until 2030. The SDGs include the goals of ending poverty and […]
10th anniversary of Kelvin Thomson’s global population speech
Tomorrow it will be exactly 10 years since I spoke to the Parliament describing increasing population as the underlying cause of the world’s problems. I listed each of them – global warming, food crisis, water shortages, housing affordability, overcrowded cities, traffic congestion, species extinctions, fisheries collapse, increasing prices, waste, terrorism and war – and described […]
Growing congestion in our cities: infrastructure costs make us all worse off
The latest Infrastructure Australia assessment shows, yet again, that red-hot population growth is causing congestion and frustration in our cities, according to Sustainable Population Australia (SPA). Infrastructure Australia has warned that investment in infrastructure is not keeping up with population growth. The report has estimated the cost to the economy of transport congestion in our […]
Earliest ever earth overshoot day
Sustainable Population Australia has voiced great concern that Earth Overshoot Day (EOD) is occurring three days earlier than last year. In 2019, it is 29 July, the earliest ever. According to the Global Footprint Network, EOD marks the date when humanity’s annual demand on nature exceeds what Earth’s ecosystems can regenerate in that year. In […]
Bob Birrell receives SPA unsung hero award
On July 20th, Professor Bob Birrell met with the Victoria and Tasmania branch of Sustainable Population Australia (SPA) to receive his award as the inaugural winner of the Mary E White Unsung Hero award. The winner was announced at the Sustainable Population Australia (SPA) Annual General Meeting in Brisbane in April. Bob was presented his award […]
Annual population growth passes 400,000: unsustainable
Australia’s total population growth has soared past 400,000 in the figures released yesterday by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. According to Sustainable Population Australia (SPA), this is completely unsustainable in environmental, economic and social terms. SPA National President, Sandra Kanck, says 61.4 per cent of total growth (404,800) was from net overseas migration (248,400 people). […]
World Population Day – Sustainable Population Australia Victoria challenges growth at free public event as Melbourne’s population heads towards 12 million.
July 11th is World Population day, marking the 30th anniversary since the global population hit 5 Billion on 11th of July, 1989. This week, it will be 7.7 billion, and UN estimates it will reach 11.2 billion by 2100. Australia’s population growth rate is three times higher than other OECD nations, growing by 400,000 in […]
World environment day – more people, more pollution.
On this year’s World Environment Day (5 June), countries must recognise that more population translates to more air pollution, according to Sustainable Population Australia (SPA). Using satellite observations, a 2013 NASA study revealed that, as urban populations grew from one to ten million people, air pollution increased. In the US, Europe and India, air pollution […]