Michael Bayliss

Staff /
Communications Manager

Michael Bayliss, B.A.Sc/PGDip OHS, has been employed as Communications Manager for SPA since 2018.  Before this, he has worked in various managerial and program coordination positions within the disability sector.  He has been a member of SPA since 2013 and was president of the Victorian and Tasmanian branch of SPA from 2015 to 2017.

Michael comes from a family line of passionate conservationists, whose perspectives on population were influenced by the work of Paul R. Ehrlich.   Michael’s own views on population were formed by volunteering in rural Kenya alongside local communities, where it became clear that access to family planning and reproductive healthcare was stymied by a range of problems, including economic factors as well as religious and patriarchal attitudes.   Returning to Australia, Michael attended a talk at his old high school by Mark O’Connor, author of the book ‘Overloading Australia’ which cemented his views on population forever.

Michael’s approach to the ‘population issue’ comes from his broader position on the need to transition to a degrowth, steady-state society.  He is co-host of the popular Post-Growth Australia Podcast.  Michael is a strong advocate for First Nations, Global South and migrant perspectives on the population debate.    He has extensive experience in communicating the population issue, including a legacy of written work, videos and interviews that can be seen at his personal website.  He co-authored the 2023 briefing note, “The housing crisis is a population growth crisis” with Dr Jane O’Sullivan.

Outside of work, Michael is a musician, keen bushwalker and enjoys sports such as swimming,  bouldering and calisthenics.