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Submission No:
Submission Template
Issues Paper on a Sustainable Population Strategy for Australia
Insert your comments in the text box that follows each question. You may answer as many or as few
questions as you like.
A Sustainable Population Strategy
Q1:
What issues do you think a Sustainable Population Strategy for Australia should address?
Firstly immigration levels, we can no longer sustain the levels of immigration previously held before
peak oil. As good as immigration has been for the country in the past, I don’t think it is
sustainable indefinitely despite what developers say.
As we are doing with both the carbon tax system and multiculturalism we should lead the world by
example, we should lead the world in stabilising our population and showing how it can and
should be done. Wouldn’t that be a proud achievement we can leave to our future
generations?
Secondly energy security. Our coal and gas will not last forever and we should be thinking about
alternatives now.
Population and the Environment
Q2:
What do you think are the key indicators of an environmentally sustainable community?
No.1 To be sustainable a community must stop habitat loss and native species extinctions forthwith.
No. 2 To be sustainable a community must stop the spread of invasive feral animals and plants.
No. 3 To be sustainable a community must stop building housing suburbs on good agricultural land.
Q3:
How have changes in the population impacted on your local environment?
The spread of housing suburbs has resulted in the destruction of tree and grassland environments.
Both of which are necessary for the survival of native animals AND help mitigate the effects of
carbon emissions. What a great idea, chop down the trees and build more carbon pumping houses!
Q4:
How might technological or governance improvements mitigate the environmental impacts of
population growth?
No amount of technology OR governance will mitigate the impacts of population growth! Eventually
there will be a disaster no matter how many GM crops are grown, fertilisers used or land
cultivated, eventually we will run out of food. It’s not rocket science. It’s just a matter of when.
In the mean time more and more of the natural world is going. What are future generations going to
say about you and me who allowed the extinction of so many beautiful animals for the sake of
a big house with theatre room and a 4wd to take the kids to school in?
Q5:
How do population driven changes in your local economy affect your environment?
We once had parks and gardens of green to explore and bring wildlife into the city. Now using the
excuse of water shortages they are vanishing to the developers for housing. If there are water
shortages doesn’t that tell you there are too many people already.
All the practical sites for water storage dams in Australia have already been built. That was back
when governments planned for 100 years into the future. They served us well for that 100
years. Now we have nothing planned for the next 100 years in the way of infrastructure of any
kind, not even broadband, Just more and more people.
Q6:
What lessons have we learnt that will help us to better manage the impacts of population
change on the environment?
None, Not a single lesson has been learnt by any government in this country about impacts of
population growth. We still build houses on good agricultural land we still build houses that
are energy inefficient. We sell gas by the billions of tons to overseas and yet we don’t even
build a gas powered car here. Instead we buy oil from the Middle East.
Houses are way bigger than they need to be, cars are way bigger than they need to be, population
growth is way bigger than it needs to be etc.etc. No not a single sign that we have learnt
anything.
Population and the Economy
Q7:
What do you see as the defining characteristics of a flourishing and sustainable economy?
People are happy, healthy have access to good health care and education. The people feel that they
are listened to by governments and their needs are paramount not just the needs of big
business and developers. If people wish to do more with less that is there choice and not be
railroaded into a high growth economy that really only benefits a small subset of the
community, developers.
Q8:
Is your community, business or industry facing skills shortages or other immediate economic
pressures, and how are these best managed?
I’m sick of hearing about skills shortages. That’s just an excuse business uses to get governments to
up immigration to keep unemployment high so we the workers don’t have as much bargaining
power to demand better wages. It drives down our wages while driving up house prices due to
extra demand. That’s a win win for business and a lose lose for us the people!
They all tell us that love a free market economy, but not when it comes to labour. Let the market
decide they say, but when labour is short and they might have to pay more for labour off they
run to the government for more immigration to lower wages demand. It works everytime!
Q9:
In the decades to come, what challenges and opportunities will our economy face, and how
will they interact with changes in our population?
I don’t know where to start. The world is running out of oil if you haven’t noticed.
To accommodate more population the growth proponents say lets fill more of the inland. That means
more transport requirements and road miles just when oil is going through the roof.
The least we should be doing now is building infrastructure for gas and electric powered transport in
the future even if we don’t have high population growth. Maybe we can then sell the
technologies developed overseas, oh hang on, I was forgetting we usually ignore Australian
technology and just give it away to overseas. What was I thinking.
Q10: How should we measure the sustainability of our local, regional and national economies?
Population and Communities
Q11: What are the things that make your community a good place to live?
Clean air, clean water and lots of trees and wildlife.
The ability to grow lots of your own food and share it with neighbours and friends. None of which is
available to high rise, high density living espoused by high population advocates.
The more people are crammed into high rise the more they are dependent on the big grocery chains
for their food, and that’s just the way they like it. A captive market of millions means big
profits and they can name their own price, while ( with government help) systematically
eliminating the smaller competition. How can any government let a big supermarket chain also
be the biggest owner of poker machines in the country? Poker machine profits can easily be
used to prop up a supermarket deliberately running at a loss to destroy any competition.
Q12: How have changes in the population changed the way you live your life?
The encroachment of dual occupancy housing into my city living area prompted me to move to the
country. I could no longer tolerate the added congestion and harassment involved while, I
might add, there being NO improvement to infrastructure such as roads etc. Dual occupancy
was a win win for the developers and a lose lose for me.
We now live in a country where nearly every single person one speaks to has had their house robbed.
When I was much younger, most people didn’t need, or bother, to lock their house. Now we
have back to base alarms as a consequence of infrastructure (policing) not keep up with the
population requirements. That alone is a reason for future generations to be critical of our
appalling stewardship of the country. Does anyone really believe that infrastructure will be
better served in the future by higher population when there is NO evidence that it has been the
case in the past?
Q13: What sustainability issues need to be addressed in order for your community to accommodate
a changing Australian population?
Q14: What are some useful indicators to help measure the liveability and sustainability of our
communities?
Additional comments
ALL the worlds tragedies, famine, disease, war, refugees, climate change can be traced back to one
glaring cause, overpopulation. No one seems to want to admit it. And all we can do is jump on
the high population growth bandwagon to satisfy some economic principle.
What are you people thinking?
Submissions will be accepted until 5pm on Tuesday 1 March 2010.
Submit your completed template via:
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Email at:
Facsimile at:
Mail to:
sustainablepopulation@environment.gov.au
02 6274 2505 or
Sustainable Population Strategy
GPO Box 787
Canberra, ACT, 2601