"our migration programme will be gorging upon it."

More like choking.

It doesn't sound like you want Australia to be Australian at all.

It sounds like another America.
Bigger, brasher, more, more, more.

That's exactly what Australia *isn't*.
And our lack of "excess" is one of our blessings.

If Australia wants to show the way, it can do so by doing the exact opposite of your vision.

We don't need to go ballistic, we don't need to please everyone or be everything.
We don't need to turn it up to maximum.

We can just be us.
A people who prefer the simple, calm, honest, humble, easy, jovial, cheeky, spacial.

Please don't let us become another big bold America, or worse, a trashy, flashy Pancultural Disney ride.

Two observations in this article stand out, and clearly display the confusion and neocon attitude that is already wrecking this nations common weal.
1:And as poorer nations struggle to feed, power, resource and service themselves, Australia's natural resource and service exporters will be making a fortune.
It's Australians that are already "struggle(ing) to feed, power, resource and service themselves"
Artificially increasing our population and high usage of 457's is only going to make that harder, not easier

2:To ensure Australia doesn't miss its moment to shine, five key obstacles will need to be tackled. These are:

overcoming demographic weakness;
avoiding a productivity slump;
reversing the decline of responsive government;
administering population growth; and
managing its population islands.
The Abbot government, judged by it's actions rather than it's words, appears to be doing the exact opposite of these.

We are uniquely positioned to take advantage of growth in Asia, but not in services that can be wiped out with the first economic ill wind that blows, or high labor industries, leftover from the last century, nor as a place set to grow tenfold.
Housing is already unaffordable, and we are set to become tenants in our own land!
In a land of flood, fire and drought, we simply cannot guarantee to feed ourselves, let alone a hungry world.
And none of the kids I know want to go on and become table waiters and boot-lickers for foreign tourists or foreign owners.
Given that is basically all that is beckoning our visionless, divide and rule, sell off our economic sovereignty, "leaders".
Yet we have great potential, but not as a soon to be mined out hole in the ground that promotes Asian growth, or indeed, as a rust belt, peopled by former workers, living in a recreated Great Depression, with its tent cities and soup kitchens.
Yes we can grow, but only if we realize our actual potential, instead of as now, trying to sell much too much of it at a virtual fire sale.
Why even our 1.8 trillion super funds, prefer to invest our money offshore, a sure sign we are going no place in a huge hurry.
Perhaps if we ever get a single, largely bipartisan parliament, able to put the nation's interests first, rather than cronies, or this or that sectional interest, or cashed up foreigners etc/etc, we could start to realize some of our real potential and maybe even some self defense self reliance.
But hell is likely to freeze over, before we witness a transformed ruling elite, no longer just self serving, squabbling, vulturistic road blocks in the path of progress; and or, actually able to put Australia first!
Let alone one actually able to lead us to that far better future!
I mean wake up and look around! That's not where we are going! When was the last time you saw a hundred thousand homeless Australians!? Well?
Rhrosty.

Why don't these "growth" morons let several families move into their homes to get a more realistic idea of their idiotic ideas ?
To just impose population growth on the rest of us is nothing short of stupid arrogance. I say lead by example, you do it first & if it looks alright we'll follow, not the other way round.
The way they want it there won't be an Australia in a few decades. I for one have no desire to live like in an middle eastern suburb.

The problem with this author and other similar thinkers, is growth is always dependent on population growth!
Growth that is thoroughly divorced from population growth is as simple as addressing poverty, wherever we find it!
Part of the growth story also depends on Governments, who are finally able to divorce themselves from self imposed, fundamentally flawed ideology, and the usual moronic mantras!
The most moronic, being, that governments have no business in business, the second being, governments mustn't pick winners! The third being tax reform and simplification is impossible, or an egg too scrambled to unscramble!
When the reality is, something as rotten as the mess we've made out of our highly irrational tax system, just needs to be thrown in the garbage where it belongs.
That then should allow us to create the world's cheapest tax system and couple that to the lowest costing energy!
Our future is a high tech high salaried one, that keeps and uses our natural resources to achieve just that, rather than pad the bank accounts of overly exploitative, often debt laden foreign speculators, who invariably, bring down burgeoning economies; before the learner drivers, are truly aware of what they're doing, or how they achieved such outcomes!
Like say, the Keynesian created post war period, of unprecedented prosperity.
And resented by the usual, POWER HUNGRY, individualistic, greed is good, white shoe brigade, who have again managed to get their hands on the economic levers, and wind back virtually all that growth and a very promising future for mankind!
The facts are, the country that achieved the most growth, is also the one simultaneously seriously downsizing its population.
And largely, by keeping price gouging private operators out of their banks, and cash cow essential service, which was then allowed to act as true economic pillars, not white-anted by price gouging private players!
Facts that will as usual, fall on deaf ears, so don't wait for a better more pragmatic growth outcome, just more of the same old same old, that has put us where we are today!
Rhrosty.

I have it on good authority that Eurosclerotic means "some Danish sex Goddess having it off with a vein".

Watch my Very, Very, Blonde, Danish nanny (I wish) demonstrate how to do it: http://youtu.be/vrO3TfJc9Qw

Don't worry Graham - its clean :)

A public service by Pete on cold, cold, Canberra Winter's day :p