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The Forum > Article Comments > Half used continent > Comments

Half used continent : Comments

By Everald Compton, published 6/2/2014

How we failed to build a balanced nation

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Everald, your < key issues for planners > are all geared towards massive expansionism.

Sorry, but this is exactly what we DON’T need!

What we need is to balance the needs of our population with the ability of this continent to provide them. This requires as the most important thing a stabilisation of our population, NOT continuous rapid growth, NOT the massive growth of many regional cities and NOT an ever-rapidly-increasing demand for all manner of resources, goods, services and infrastructure.

< The bottom line is that Australia is a long way from being a nation of balanced development. >

No. The bottom line should be, and indeed MUST be; a balance between the demand for everything that we need to maintain a decent quality of life and the ability for this continent, and our ingenuity, to meet that demand, in an ongoing manner.

It has surely GOT to be all about us achieving a sustainable society, and NOT about fostering never-ending expansionism.

To this end, we should be looking at what developments are needed to reach a balance between demand and sustainable supply capability.

Some development of the sorts that you envisage would be appropriate. But we MUST start heading towards a stable population as well.
Posted by Ludwig, Thursday, 6 February 2014 8:07:14 AM
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All very nice, but where would the money come from? We are broke. We have been broken by the very politicians who are supposed to look after the country, and pursue some of the good things suggested. It's all pie in the sky stuff. It will never happen. And we certainly do not need any more people.
Posted by NeverTrustPoliticians, Thursday, 6 February 2014 8:13:06 AM
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It's a very anthropocentric mentality to think that any land without housing, myriad of roads crossing it, and industries, is being "wasted", "un-used" and "empty". There are many biological and ecological services happening on our land, and most of our endangered animals live in burrows and trees. Already Australia is a leading biological exterminator!
Australia is largely desert, with irregular rainfall, hot climates that are set to increase in intensity and extreme weather events due to climate change. There are constraints to any growth, and Australia is being overloaded by population. Only 6% of our soils are arable. Rather than un-used, we are being forced to accommodate rapid population growth due to megalomaniac politicians with their growth-addictive policies - and the constraints to urbanisation are obvious and being ignored. The dizzy heights of Parliamentary power is blinding them to on the ground realities of Australia as largely a desert nation with a green fringe!
Posted by VivienneO, Thursday, 6 February 2014 8:15:48 AM
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One of the more unrealistic and pessimistic op eds I've read on OLO. It completely ignores settlement patterns and the extraordinary contribution that migrants made to Australia after WW2.

It completely ignores the incredible strength of our economy since the mid 80s and is a classic doom and gloom piece. By any measure, Australia is one of the leading nations per capita in the world. It is hampered by some ridiculous Federalist ideas but we're not alone there.

I'm sure Everard means well but if I remember rightly, he is all for raising the aged pension age to 70. Flay those oldies, Everard! And that's from the chairman of the Mature Age Consultative Forum. As they say in The Producers, 'Don't help. No honestly, don't help'.
Posted by Malcolm 'Paddy' King, Thursday, 6 February 2014 9:11:42 AM
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Everald, another thing that Captain Cook wouldn't have thought of is the move by Imperial America to gain control of the world purely for its own benefit.

Australia, in 2014, is already largely controlled and directed by the U.S.. It is used by the U.S. Armed Forces as part of their spying network while American troops march on parts of our soil and their navies use out ports and they launch drones from our airfields (although this is not officially verified).

Australia keeps nations in our region at arms length for fear it might upset the U.S. in its various greed-driven 'Pivots' and 'Containments'.

Everald, I did enjoy your article and it contains much commonsense, something that is totally lacking in the current leadership of Australia (I use the word 'leadership' very loosely).

Australia will never evolve or achieve greatness while it is caught in the American web and being manipulated by the world's biggest warmonger and imperialist!
Posted by David G, Thursday, 6 February 2014 9:13:24 AM
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Everald,
I agree with you totally up to the point of a return to a focus on rail transport and phasing out of (especially) long distance road transport.
As to your 1950’s vision of turning rivers inland, massive population increase etc, I am afraid you are sadly disillusioned. Have you read about Cloncurry? They are going to evacuate the whole town because they have run out of water!
Australia already has three times the population that can be supported without the profligate use of fossil fuels and other resources.
We need to stop all immigration from any source and concentrate on living within our means
Posted by Imperial, Thursday, 6 February 2014 11:52:29 AM
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