Media Releases
Australia still at ‘third world’ rates of population growth
Continuation of a third-world pace of population growth, at 2.1% pa, puts further pressure on Australia’s housing, infrastructure and fragile environment, says Sustainable Population Australia (SPA). SPA national President Peter Strachan was responding to today’s ABS population figures that revealed Australia grew by 552,000 in the year to 30 June 2024, more than 80 per […]
Population growth weakening Australia’s water security: new report
Water demand due to population growth is outstripping improvements in Australians’ efficiency of household water use, according to new research commissioned by Sustainable Population Australia (SPA) in a report titled Big thirsty Australia: how population growth threatens our water security and sustainability. “Since 2010, per person water use in the household sector has remained […]
No surprise that report finds half Australians think immigration too high
The finding by the Scanlon Foundation that nearly half Australians (49%) think immigration is too high should come as no surprise, according to Sustainable Population Australia (SPA). The 2024 report Mapping Australia’s Cohesion found there is growing belief that immigration is too high and is strongly related to economic and housing issues rather than attitudes […]
Australia’s low fertility is all good news
Sustainable Population Australia (SPA) has welcomed news that Australia’s fertility has fallen to 1.5 children per woman, dismissing media claims it represents an economic crisis.”. Australian National University demographer Liz Allen said on ABC radio, “Once we hit this figure, we are basically staring down the barrel of no return.” SPA national president Peter […]
Hunger and poverty resurgent as world population continues to climb
Media release (World Food Day 16/10 and International Poverty Eradication Day 17/10) Sustainable Population Australia (SPA) says the first two Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of ‘No Poverty’ and ‘Zero Hunger’ – both by 2030 – cannot be achieved while world population continues an inexorable climb. SPA national president Peter Strachan says 692 million people […]
Sustainable Population Australia welcomes Professor Anne Poelina as Patron
Sustainable Population Australia (SPA) has welcomed Professor Anne Poelina, a renowned First Australian academic who is very active on social equality issues, as the new patron. Prof Poelina joins respected names, including Dr Katharine Betts, Dr Paul Collins, and Professors Tim Flannery, the Hon Bob Carr, and Ian Lowe, as a patron of SPA. […]
World Contraception Day reminds us that access to contraception is a human right
To mark World Contraception Day on 26 September, Sustainable Population Australia says access to contraception is a human right, yet 257 million women globally are trying to avoid pregnancy without access to any form of modern contraception. This makes them vulnerable to unintended pregnancy, unsafe abortion and preventable maternal death. SPA national president Peter […]
Housing disaster will extend for years if population growth ignored
Without a mature discussion on population growth, the housing crisis will extend for years to come, according to Sustainable Population Australia (SPA). SPA National president Peter Strachan says there is deep denial within the government that population is the main factor driving housing demand. “The government’s focus is on supply while the demand side […]
Thirty years is too long to turn a blind eye to world population growth
September 13 marks thirty years since the United Nations International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo effectively denounced population stabilisation as a development goal. Sustainable Population Australia (SPA) argues it is time for a reset. “World population is still growing by about 90 million a year,” notes SPA spokesperson Dr Jane O’Sullivan. […]
Australia is Overpopulated and has Breached its Ecological Limits
Sustainable Population Australia (SPA) calls for sensible public policy that takes heed of the driest continent’s ecological limits to growth, as demonstrated by a record of steady environmental decline over the past 100 years. Capping annual net migration below 70,000 to ensure Australia’s population remains below 30 million, would limit further degradation. SPA’s President, […]