SPA Population Policy
(75Kb) – SPA National Executive, Nov 2005
The policy outlines SPA’s position on how Australia can achieve and ecologically sustainable population. It also provides a brief background into the current impact of Australia’s existing population.
Other Population Policies
- ACF Population Policy (scroll to the bottom of the page) – Australian Conservation Foundation
- Greens Population Policy – Australian Greens
- Greens Immigration and Refugees – Australian Greens
- Political Parties Policy on Population (31Kb)
- Sierra Club of Canada Population Policy
Population Policy Battlefronts
- Global
- National Government
- State Government
- Local Government
1. Global
Australia should direct more money into foreign aid to combat the conditions that contribute to overpopulation by assisting initiatives for educating and enfranchising women, enhancing children’s health, and promoting family planning education and safe, non-coercive family planning methods.
Australia and other ‘Developed’ countries should cooperate with United Nations global initiatives in developing longsighted population policies which take into account our high environmental/energy consumption impact per capita.
We should lead by example and assist in the development and use of low energy consumption technology and lifestyle.
Take great care when dealing with homeostatic indigenous ecologies.
2. National Government
- adoption of population policy
- separation of political and administrative responsibility for population and immigration
- chairing of a cabinet committee on population by Prime Minister adoption of a consumption strategy
- aim to stabilise population numbers by:
- promoting small families and a
- zero net migration program
- plan immigration program for the humanitarian longterm, staggering intake to cope with foreseeable ongoing demands and climate change
- Change the emphasis on immigration and population research funding from its longstanding almost exclusive focus on internal migration and ethnic group demographics, in order to give far greater attention to population numbers, per capita energy use and environmental impact.
3. State Government
Wherever States have the responsiblity for and power of limiting impact on the bioregions within their borders they should exercise this within the context of national and local population policy.
Examples:
- Carr’s NSW government exerted pressure at a federal level and influenced that government’s policies of diverting population growth from urban to rural areas.
- Conversely the Victorian State government, committed to agressive property development, has largely abrogated the ability of local governments to limit building permits, preserve parkland, wilderness and water catchments.
4. Local Government
- power of limiting building permits (and thus of limiting population growth) in line with water catchment capacities, aesthetics, civil hygiene, preservation of agricultural land and natural amenities, like green wedges, nature reserves and parkland
- promotion of energy efficient public and private buildings
- facilitation of householder independence from the State power and sewerage grid
- incorporation of local indigenous species’ needs for space, food and water within the concept of local planning and as participants in the regional ecology.
Press & Media
- The implications of the limits to growth analysis for thinking about Australia’s population policy – Dr Ted Trainer (NSW), © On Line Opinion, Jan 2000