“In fact, both major parties are out of step with public opinion”.

They certainly are; but will the electorate tell them that at next election? Probably not. Australians have their heads up their backsides, totally deserving the rotten governments they continue putting into office. Even if they did remove their heads from where they are, what could they do about it? The only two packs of self-serving bozos who can form a government are both Big Australia fanatics. So, perhaps they should keep their heads up the their arses, bringing them out only to booze, watch other people play football and mind-numbing ‘reality’ TV. and wait for the Chinese or Muslims to make them minorities in their own country.

Thanks for this article. We need to push population policy up the political agenda. Over-population is driving people crazy, at least in Sydney.

I would like to remind readers that the better approach to setting an immigration rate is the We Will Decide policy at www.wewilldecide.info. It would allow people to set population limits in their local area, which would be enforced through the control of residential development (and in no other way). Add up the local limits and we can then calculate how many people Australians really want brought in to the country. See the website for details.

At present we treat migration as one big tap, which at the moment is set to allow in a flood. Critics advocate turning down the flow, or closing off the tap completely. Both approaches use the same clumsy instrument - a national intake figure - which by its nature cannot respond to the different needs of local areas.

This is where We Will Decide is different. It adopts a bottom-up approach where each local area can signal to what extent it wants a higher population, and the further development which accompanies it. Think of it as a separate tap for each local area.

I can’t be sure I’ll last long enough to submit We Will Decide to any Senate committee of inquiry, so I hope others interested in this area will step in to advocate this better mechanism for setting the migration intake. We Will Decide has been available online for 5 years now, and no media outlet has publicised it. Perhaps some of you people out there with influence could lend a hand.

ttbn nailed it:

“In fact, both major parties are out of step with public opinion”.

They certainly are; but will the electorate tell them that at next election? Probably not.

Both major parties are very aware of the difference between an issue in a public opinion poll and an issue that will change votes. They also know that their rival party has the exact same policy so that leaves voters looking for an alternative that doesn't have the resources or history to make a significant impact.

Sustainable Australia (https://www.sustainableaustralia.org.au/) and Dick Smith have been battling along for 10 years and they get my vote but not many others.

Pro-high population growth proponents have been successful at painting opposition to immigration as racist and the left side of politics is so afraid of being called a racist that would rather see our standard of living drop and pollution increase than have anybody dare call them a racist.

Ah Ericc,
The lefts have developed an anti-white policy so they are racists.
Well, at the next election I am going to vote Conservative,
2nd pref Australian Unity Alliance, 3rd pref One Nation then Libs,
then ALP, then Greens.
Not all will be available of course, just drop those not running.
My purpose is to shake them up as much as possible.
To be realistic in my electorate the libs will get in, but the senate
might be a different kettle of fish.

So I recommend you do the same. Of course if you are rusted on Labour
then just swap Libs and ALP in my list.
Aside from marching on parliament with pitchforks thats the best I can suggest.

Australia is not overpopulated, even if a few of her capital cities are. And then only because pollies serving special vested interest? Simply compound the problem.

We spend somewhere north of 70 billion P.A., just to have entirely redundant, state legislatures, or if you will, the only tier of government, we'd be better off without.

And instead, divert that money to nation-building infrastructure that spreads and decentralises the modest population numbers. Should include rapid rail, dispatchable MSR thorium power and deionisation dialysis desalination.

To ensure our productive farmland remains just that. And transforms some of our most arid regions into our most productive, without ever once over-utilising natural overland flow!

We can spend money on roadblock fat cat parliaments or nation-building, but not both!

Something needs to be done. Unfortunately those with their greedy snouts in the taxpayer trough? Are the last who will do it! And will know for sure and certain all the reasons it CAN'T BE DONE, WON' T EVER HAPPEN!

The last time we did real nation building, The snowy mountains scheme we were forced to bring in folks from all over the world, with eminently compatible belief systems.

All we need is a can-do visionary leader and several visionary projects.

And we could double the number of folks who call Australia home, without any trouble, or unseemly social disruption.

Tired of incompetent state government or corruption central with their mouths fastened firmly to the taxpayer nanny tit as the alternative to progressive nation building?
Alan B.

Anyone called a racist should be proud of themselves. It's abuse used by the Left when they don't have argument. There is simply no excuse for mass immigration in a developed country.