The clincher however in Henry’s speech, is the impact of the huge growth projected for our trade with China and India. They have a long way to go in catching up with us in per capita income terms, so the resources trade will grow exponentially for a long time, other things being equal. We will
Immigration Taking a Long View Read More »
Another aspect that is rarely mentioned is the way government policy is undermining primary production – the family farm is just about a museum piece; few younger people are seeing the value in farming as a career so even if we were not busy turning our prime agricultural land into residential areas we still face
Migration, population policy and colonial exploitation Read More »
I grew up in Broken Hill, which is dependent on the Darling River. I remember hearing stories of such widespread flooding of the river that the paddle-steamers on their way up to Bourke got lost because the captains were unable to determine where the main channel was. I spent 15 years in the South Australian
Population, Making a Living, and the Limits of the Murray Darling Basin Read More »
From a member of SPA, posted to the SPA members Group Popforum, I’ve just been checking the latest edition of the the ABS Labour Force Statistics (March 2010). As you probably know the overall unemployment rate is 5.3%, but for young people aged 15-19 it’s 18.2%, up from 14.6% in March 2007. If this were
124,000 young people not working and not studying – 24th April 2010 Read More »
Nearly 7 out of 10 Australian voters do not think Australia needs more people, and only 23 per cent favour growth via an active immigration policy, according to a survey recently completed by the Australian Survey of Social Attitudes (AusSSA) at the Australian National University. AusSSA included a series of questions about attitudes to population in
Survey shows 7 out of 10 Australians oppose population growth Read More »
The accident itself and its comical aftermath was merely the latest demonstration by the NSW government that it would be flat out organising a chook raffle, with the hated Roads and Traffic Authority playing the starring role. The political consequences are discussed by my colleague Imre Salusinszky on the facing page. Late Monday morning and
Traffic snarl fuels fears over exploding population Read More »
The Rudd government has stated that it intends to increase the population of Australia. It is estimated by Treasury that the number of Australian citizens will reach 35 million by 2049. The federal government has identified that, to meet the challenge of the increasing population, major cities will have to increase their urban density. For this
Super size me: is a big Australia good for our health? Read More »
“The Lowy Institute survey confirms what the Coalition has repeatedly highlighted, that Australians have serious concerns about Kevin Rudd’s notion of a big Australia with 36 million people by 2050,” Mr Morrison said. “The Coalition is committed to a sustainable population growth path for Australia that meets the needs of our economy and maintains our
Australians reject Kevin Rudd’s big Australia – 08/04/10 Read More »
Sustainability and unsustainability are opposites, so are social inclusion and social exclusion. In theory, if we can define one, we can define the other and if we can measure one, we can measure the other. But in practice, who knows how to precisely define or accurately measure sustainability or social inclusion? Defining elements of social
MEASURING WHAT MATTERS Read More »
Instead of focusing on scale, we should be looking to a far greater extent at the economies and diseconomies of growth rate. At issue is not a comparison of 2009 with 22 million people versus 2049 with 36 million. It is the comparison of 2009 with 2.1 per cent annual population growth with
The Downward Spiral of Hasty Population Growth Read More »
