We need a population policy

http://candobetter.org/node/474

"To a large extent business, together with the general community, is driving political change on climate. Can business now put short-term interest aside and help build a sustainable economy based on an ecologically sustainable population?

Our birth rate more or less balances our death rate.

But under the Howard government Australia experienced a massive increase in the number of immigrants, culminating in about 150,000 in 2007-08.

This is a clumsy and naive way to give the semblance of a healthy economy, with continued growth in GDP based on an ever-increasing population.

Yet the whole edifice is a house of cards, just waiting to come crashing down."

Thanks to all respondents.

Some people have offered reasonable explanations as to why we have never-ending expansionism, but there is no one out there who supports it or who thinks that we have to have it or that it will increase our collective quality of life.

There are quite few small countries with a similar standard of living and economic systems to us, but with essentially no gross expansionism in their populations or economies, and no real problems with international competition, trade or their positions on the world stage.

We can still have a dynamic economy, with profitable businesses and returns to shareholders with a net zero immigration rate and a pre baby-bonus fertility rate.

The fact is; we don’t need continuous expansionism….. and arguments in support of it are either entirely spurious or insignificant compared to the negative effects of maintaining high growth.

We rather desperately need to end continuous expansionism. I think we all agree.

So then, how on earth do we get Rudd to listen to the likes of Clive Hamilton of the Australia Institute, Tim Flannery, David Suzuki, Ian Lowe and others?

Or to the mayors of the Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast and others who are pushing for population caps and reduced growth rates? Or to former NSW premier Bob Carr?

He’s listened to Al Gore (who is unfortunately not too crash hot with his expression on population and growth issues, although certainly onside) about climate change and fossil fuel consumption. The business community doesn’t like Rudd’s rather strong rhetoric on climate change, but he’s gone ahead with it anyway. So why is the situation so different with growth, especially given that continuous population growth is strongly connected to greenhouse gas emission rates?? It doesn’t make sense. In fact, it is Ruddiculous!

How do we get the general populace in SEQ, Perth, Sydney, etc, to express outrage at having to suffer ongoing tight water restrictions while their illustrious leaders continue to allow the number of water-consumers to rapidly increase??

WHY ISN’T THEIR A MASSIVE OUTCRY about this business? What am I missing here?

Dear Ludwig,

Because Australia is at least 30 years behind the developed world, and it will take the people of this country that long to react. It must first be proven elsewhere, before we will even consider it.

Is it the water or is it the sun? But there is definitely something wrong with our thinking. The attitude in this country seems to be,
"We've always done it this way, why change it?"
And with that attitude - progress is very slow.

There are many people with brilliant ideas - but after years of frustration they leave this country and take those ideas where they are apprerciated and implemented. Then years later we buy them back, at great expense.

My husband has been saying this for decades, and now he just doesn't care anymore. And that's what happens to a lot of people, they either leave or simply give up.

Ludwig you asked "WHY ISN’T THEIR A MASSIVE OUTCRY about this business? What am I missing here?"

Because too many people still buy into the growth at all costs mentality and like Sleeping Beauty have not yet been awoken from their slumber.

I'm with you Ludwig and the many OLO respondents above but until there is a major mindshift on this (including at the global level) we are destined to continue to make the same mistakes. I am also a great fan of Clive Hamilton and books like "Growth Fetish" and "Affluenza" should be included in any teaching of economics.

On the postive side there are small groundswell movements at local levels and history shows that this is how great movements start. I hope that we are wise enough question our ingrained mindsets and change our behaviours before an environmental catastrophe makes it necessary to do so.

Individually we might make a difference if enough of us show restraint by not giving in to consumerism and greed.

Aw piffle! That should have read; ‘Why isn’t THERE a massive outcry’. Rrrgh!

Yes Foxy, these things can take an awful long time to gain momentum. However, they can also come about very quickly.

I’d like to think that real progress on addressing continuous growth is just around the corner. I hope to goodness that our concerns about climate change and our resource crunch issues of water and oil will morph into a total sustainability perspective, which of course has to include and end to expansionism.

Surely it has to…..soon!

Pelican, I think that people still buy into the growth at all costs mentality largely because they haven’t heard anything bad about it. Indeed, they haven’t been awoken from their slumber. Let’s face it, our message, as presented by Clive Hamilton and a small band of others, doesn’t reach or penetrate the masses.

If the message was out their to anything like the same extent that the ‘growth is good’ message is, ordinary people would be quickly realising that continuous growth is increasing the threat to their future or their childrens’ future, and they’d start demanding that their government do something about it.

I think that it is quite feasible and reasonable for people to chase personal growth, in their businesses or incomes, while at the same time realising that their local, state and national governments seriously need to address growth in the bigger picture.

Foxy has once again knocked it right on the head. It seems that most Australians like to see Australia as merely a new europe wherebys we can use European practises and technologies here as though they are our own, this is not true. Australia shouldn't just WANT to do more research and innovation on its own, it NEEDS to. To try and prevent growth is simply a easy (which is hardly easy at all anyways) way to fix the problem, just because of bloody expense, cant be bothered spending on things that matter, cant be bothered doing anything. You anti-growthists have no sense of patriotism or pride in national greatness, which is your luxury but it should not be imposed on everyone. With my ideas, everyone can go on and live their own lives making their own choices, the changes will largely happen behind the scenes. The simple fact of the matter, to survive as a nation we must go forward.