Candide.

"You asked when I would think the world would be full ....."

We all remember the 60's and seventies when we were told that the worlds population would have hit 20 Billion by now but in fact is only at about 6 Billion. (The state of Texas alone could support that population) so I suppose we have a long way to go befpre we would worry in this country.

Webby your right some decent planning on infrastructure and dencentralisation could she this country easily fit another cool 50 or so million.

One only has to remember the recent rains in Noth Queensland on the Burdekin where they were losing a sydney harbour full of water a day.
Imagine if we only had politicians with a bit of foresight.

Perhaps the DLP just might be the answer Webby

Zig

Rehctub - why hypocrites? Did I say we should stop reproducing entirely and wipe out the human race? If you bothered to read what I wrote, I remarked that without government intervention the Australian population would be in natural decline. Nothing about preventing people from having children if they wished, just that the government should not intervene to prevent the decline.

Zig - I was around in the 60s and I'd like to know where you got that 20 billion figure from, as I never heard it - any references? And if you like to think that everything will be hunky-dory with billions more people squabbling over fresh water and juggling between using crops for food or fuel, and whether remaining wildernesses are best used as carbon sinks or chewed up to produce more crops, who am I to forcibly pull your head out the sand? I would prefer future generations to have a better existence, that's all. I would also like all people in developing countries to be better off and better educated - and guess what would happen then? Yup, their birthrate would fall.

Australia is under-utilised. Heavy concentrations in only a few cities and major towns. Water is plentiful alwasy. Problem with shortage of water is man-made indecision from govts of all persuasions; also the evil phenomenon of the 'Greens' who over the apst thirty years have 'encouraged' the major parties for preference deals in reurn for no more dams etc stupidity/lunacy.

Don't complain about problems that are not inevitable. Chuck out Bob Brown and his buddies. And major parties ought to start acting responsibly for the majority who seek decentralisation and services and viable lifestyles and livelihoods in rural Australia not just the cities.
And forget the brainwashing and blind faith in ideological programming from the ABC- the false religion of secularists.

Webby you must live in Brisbane. If you bothered to travel west into the Murray Darling Basin where 42% of our food is grown you would see a parched river system, which this year has allocated security irrigators 4% of their allocation. Rice and wheat farmers have no water allocation this year but will still pay $36,000 for their water licenses. Melbourne plans to extract drinking water from this stressed catchment. In Melbourne itself lawns are brown and dry because they can't be watered and old shade trees are dying as their root systems have been dry for about 5 years now. From where I sit in south eastern Australia I can see Australia importing basic foods to supplement our domestic production. A check of the supermarket shelves will show that food processors import a surprising amount of food so we may not be self sufficient in food now.

We don't need to populate or perish, if we counted the number of people who were unemployed properly we would find that there were enough people in Australia to do the skilled work, care for the aged as well as care, educate and train the young. If farm workers were paid cash then people would harvest the crop - they might be unemployed and topping up their Newstart Allowance, they might be moonlighting pensioners or backpackers but the current system severely punishes pensioners and unemployed for topping up their meagre incomes.

Billie;

Yeah but the bradfield scheme would fix that. Just using the current rivers system. Bring it down from the Fitzroy and the Johnson and fix the problem for good.

The last quote a couple of years back was only 6 Billion and would have a return on investment in 1 year. Its about time some of the major parties really got serious about drought proofing Western Qld and Western NSW. The answer as been there for years and was the second choice to the snowy river scheme.

Its even been modified to add another river flow in northern Nsw.
Lets get on with it. If as you say there is a food shortage then lets cash in on it.

Hi Billie
I'm a Sydneysider. Always have been.
Think I always will be.
Too many nice pasta and Italian cafes, especially at Leichhardt for me to ever leave; except for holidays with la familia.