Archive:   Sustainable Population Australia [SPA]

Last Updated  15/10/10

Edition # 92 Of Sustainable Population Australia [SPA] Newsletter (June/July)

(29/6/10 - CC)  It's all about - what else - the hottest topic around: population!

The June/July issue of the SPA Newsletter (Issue 92) is now available to download from http://www.population.org.au/index.php/media/newsletters/113-newsletter-archive

The 'line-up' for the Newsletter leads off with:

• Nationwide Population Reform Meetings - A roundup of the 'Breakfast' functions held on May 7th in six Australian capital cities at which a range of speakers discussed runaway population growth, and its implications for our environment, economy, liveability and way of life.  These breakfasts were initiated by Kelvin Thomson MP, the Federal Member for Wills, and were made possible by generous support of Dick Smith and the hard work of a number of volunteers from SPA and the staff in Kelvin Thomson’s office. p1
• A Plague of People - In which Roger Short (The Wexler Professorial Fellow, Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology and Adjunct Professor, Zoology, Royal Women’s Hospital argues that the resources we spend trying to save endangered species would be better spent trying to limit human population growth. p3
• Joint International Position Statement - Population policy and the environment.  We reproduce in full, this International Position Statement of which SPA is a signatory and participant.
• Ever-growing population horror - Gordon Hocking. In our letters section we publish Gordon's valuable contribution to the current population debate showing a graph of  population projections for Australia at various growth rates.  Gordon shows that even at 0.6% growth the population will exceed the now famous 36 million (Big Australia) by the end of the century and that Government-induced population growth (via its immigration program) will have to stop now if there is any hope of managing 'runaway' population growth.
• Anglican Synod on Population - A brief report on the discussion paper prepared by the Anglican Synod for its meeting in October
• Economic slump hits population - A summary of the current ABS figures on Australia's population growth and projections for the future.
• UNFCCC - Bonn 2010 - A brief update on SPA's current contribution to the UNFCCC discussion in Bonn 2010.
• Biodiversity funds cut: targets set.  With International Biodiversity day on May 22nd the Newsletter takes a look at the cuts to 'Caring for our Country' and the impact on Biodiversity and;
• Biodiversity Outlook gloomy but TEEB more promising - the UN Convention on Biological Diversity released its Third Biodiversity Outlook Report on May 10th gives cause for concern as biodiversity loss is not diminishing, however The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) paints a less gloomy picture with interesting attempts to capture the value of biodiversity and its benefits to business and the community.
• Snippets

• Greens `wimping out’
•  Chinese government advisor slams Rudd on ETS
• A Comment on Ocean Warming
• More Countries sign on to illegal fishing treaty
• Flushing Our Forests Down the Toilet
• Additional contact details for the Australian Democrats and the New Australia Party

Followed by various branch reports and the Back Page with a brief report on the National President's recent visit to the SEQ AGM and the updated population clock.

Latest Edition [# 91] Of Sustainable Population Australia [SPA] Newsletter

(22/5/10 - CC)  SPA addresses the big issues as the population debate revs up 

You can access the newsletter at SPA's website http://www.population.org.au/images/stories/Newsletters/nl_91.pdf

What's in this issue?

ACF Population Initiative: Human Population Growth A Threatening Process. The lead report is about the Australian Conservation Foundation, this nation’s leading conservation body seeking to have human population growth listed as a “threatening process’ to Australia’s biodiversity under the Federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (the EPBC Act).

The Downward Spiral Of Hasty Population Growth By Jane O’Sullivan from ON LINE opinion Monday, 8 March 2010

The second article is from our own Dr Jane O'Sullivan which suggests that the cost of population growth far exceeds the cost of aging for Australia and also queries the claim that population growth is essential for a healthy economy.

Member Communications The letters and other communications received prior to publication have been summarised and discussed in a short article.

This was followed by a series of short thumbnails covering:

The Dispossessed? Too Poor To Live In Australia? An Alternative View.  A report of the strategies being adopted by our aging members of society in their attempts to cope with limited funds and the high cost of living in Australia.

Poaching Drives Search For Overseas Workers.  In which poaching of Government workers by the boom industries is forcing Councils to  to recruit from overseas.

Hot Press - Minister for Population Appointed in which we discuss the recent appointment of Mr Tony Burke to the new position of Minister for Population.

Gillard Argues Australia Needs More Migrants with tens of thousands required to drive the Mining boom, particularly in WA.

Australia’s Population Now Exceeds 22 million.  We bring you a summarised report of the latest Australian and Regional population estimates from the ABS.

Where Does Australia Sit In World Rankings? is a discussion demonstrating that Australia's population growth rate is almost double that of the world and where we sit in the rankings of a basket of countries.

and finally a brief discussion by the Global Wind Energy Council of Wind Energy Taking Off Worldwide.

This is followed by a discussion of Political Parties with a developing theme of population and contact details for the major and developing political parties.  John Coulter (Vice President) provides us with a short discussion of the 2010 AGM and we then have a brief rundown on the changes to the Office and management of SPA.  The President's Report and Branch reports follow with a quick overview of the changes in membership numbers over the last three years on the back page

Alert From Sustainable Population Australia To Urban & Regional Population Forums

(17/9/09 - P)  Dept of Planning and Community Development is hosting forums across Victoria focussing on Victoria In Future population projections 

Below is the link to the relevant on page on the website of the Victorian Dept of Planning and Community Services which will tell you of the coming Urban and Regional forums - as described:

Department of Planning & Community Development is hosting a series of forums across Victoria during September, October and November to present the story behind the Victoria in Future numbers.

This is a DPCD in the community event, during each forum attendees will be given an opportunity to consider and discuss the implications of the population projections and provide any thoughts and comments.

http://www.dse.vic.gov.au/DSE/dsenres.nsf/LinkView/2B65B655D17BD98ACA257611001A62114CA023FAC31D9D5CCA256D650016CB01

For enquiries - contact

Nicola McCracken, Communications and Administration Officer

Department of Planning and Community Development

Telephone 9208 3699 Fax 9208 3335 (during business hours)

Email to spatialanalysis.research@dpcd.vic.gov.au

SPA (Sustainable Population Australia) On Andrew Bolt

(14/10/08 - E)  "People who normally disapprove of Andrew Bolt, the often vitriolic right-wing columnist in Australia's Herald Sun, were today (8/10/08) at a loss with unfamiliar feelings of agreement"

Click here for press release from Jill Quirk, Vic President of SPA

Sustainable Population Australia [SPA] (Victoria) AGM  10 May

(26/3/08 - E) Guest Speaker:  DR KATHARINE BETTS:  "How Fast Are We Growing"

Some of the critical questions SPA will be looking for answers to are:

• How fast is Australia’s population really growing?

• How much of this growth is due to immigration?

• Have trends really changed dramatically?

• Did we need a baby bonus?

DR KATHARINE BETTS, Australian Population Sociologist, Associate Professor in Sociology at Swinburne University, Editor of Monash University demographic quarterly, People and Place, and Author of Immigration Ideology and The Great Divide, will speak on these and other issues after Sustainable Population Australia's Victorian branch AGM, between 3 and 4pm, on Saturday 10 May.  For details, click here.

MRRA is a member of Sustainable Population Australia (Victoria).

Sustainable Population Australia [SPA] December Newsletter

(9/12/07 - E)   Always a brilliant read

The December issue (No 77) of the SPA Newsletter is completed and posted to the SPA website in both pdf and html format

To download your SPA Newsletter in PDF format, please click on the following link:

http://www.population.org.au/   (The size of this PDF is 622kb.)

While you are there, you may also want to look at the October newsletter, particularly the article: "Why Conservation Efforts Will Not Survive Mass Immigration"

Take Action: On-line Population Forum - Have Your Say

(12/7/07 - E)  Sustainable Population Australia (SPA) would like to hear from you, hear what you think on population issues

Do you want to discuss population related issues?  Then Sustainable Population Australia encourages you to subscribe to a Public Forum e-mail discussion group, PublicPopForum, which is accessible from SPA's website Forum Page,  http://www.population.org.au/action/forums.htm. 

This discussion group is open to anyone (both non-SPA members and SPA members) to discuss population related issues, news and events, and provides an up-to-date and convenient forum in which to discuss population related issues, news and events. 

To subscribe send an email to PublicPopForum-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

"Instead of controlling the environment for the benefit of the population, maybe we should control the population to ensure the survival of our environment." - Sir David Attenborough - The Life of Mammals

Note: 

Sustainable Population Australia (SPA) was formed in 1988 by people who felt that the issue of human population numbers was overlooked, or regarded as too contentious, by many of those striving to preserve Australia's ecological heritage.

It is an ecological group dedicated to preserving species' habitats globally and in Australia from the degradation caused by human population growth.  SPA works on many fronts to encourage informed public debate about how Australia and the world can achieve an ecologically sustainable population.