I don't get too political with my emails to you… I decided a long time ago that regardless of what political parties are in power, I would become a proactive observer and attempt to profit from either their stupidity or brilliance.
…but this discussion about slowing population growth is rubbish!
If either Gillard or Abbott want to slow how many people come in to this country, here's what they have to do.
…put the brakes on the economy. They both know that – surely…
That's right, they have to kill the goose that makes them look good.
So, it's pretty easy to work out that that aint going to happen.
We will have probably more than 36 million people living in Australia in 20 years time. Currently, we're at 22.4 million.
The reason why we're getting so many people flocking to our shores is because we're going through economic boom conditions. We need people to come here who are willing to work and are skilled.
Sure, we can get some of the Aussie's to do it, but with full employment and a lot of lazy people on the dole, where are those folks going to come from?
Dick Smith said our solution to skilled migration problems is kicking some of those lazy dole bludgers in the backside… Dick estimates 4 million people who are called “functionally illiterate” can be trained to take on the skill shortage front.
Do you think that will happen? Did you even know there was a group of people in this country who are “functionally illiterate?”
Anyway, we haven't always experienced massive migration. We fell away to virtually zero migration during the 1890's, 1930's, mid 1970's and early 1990's.
Do you want to have a stab in the dark as to why?
Pretty easy, aye?
All of those periods were tough financially. Most were recessions.
But again, the media hypes everything up and get's us all worked up when we see the illegal immigrants on frail boats entering our country and branding them as queue-jumpers.
Do you want to know how many of those there are?
3,500 annually.
Nothing really.
We've got 42,000 people who arrive in luxury using Airbusses from all over the world who overstay their welcome of 3 months and settle here for at least a year.
…many of whom find their way to permanent residency.
So my friends, growth is going to happen and that will lead to strong financial opportunities if you just stopped listening to noise and started thinking about what's really going on.
I'm not just talking about opportunities in real estate, they should be obvious to you. We're struggling to cope with the influx and way behind on supply.
Don't think anything is going to change in the next 10 years… Good times ahead.
The stock market and equity markets will continue to prosper as well.
New businesses that know how to identify hungry markets and not follow the traditional path of heavy capital intensive infrastructure setups will also make big bucks out of our expanding population.
Whilst the retail figures were flat recently, the labour force figures that came out last week showed that employment growth is now running at more than 3% a year, which means 340,000 new jobs were created in the last 12 months.
What does that mean?
People aren't spending… They're saving.
This is a world-wide phenomenon, not only is it happening in Australia but it's happening in greater percentage increases in places like the US and Europe.
When the confidence really comes back and folks start putting their hands in their pockets and spending, we will see another massive surge in all markets.
Some of you may agree with this… Some of you may not.
I read lots of contrarian views that say the complete opposite. Some of these guys have been talking down the property boom for 3-5 years now. Whilst others have simply made hundreds, maybe even millions of dollars in the meantime.
I'm one of those. I hope you are too.
The immigration at the moment is just a political smokescreen. Neither party will be in power long enough to be able to make dent – and in any case, it would be political and economic suicide if they were even serious about it.
If you've read this far, you probably have a view. You can respond and jump on your soapbox below. Go there and have your say…
Have a great weekend.
Signed with Success,
Jon Giaan
Knowledge Source
Lee says
I agree totally about Jon’s Big Australia article. Politicians will jump up & down & make a fuss but it comes down to one stark reality – either we grow or we have to accept a lower standard of living. Nobody will accept the later but with an ageing population that’s the reality. There are places in the world experiencing population collapse. You might think it would be bliss but it’s actually quite ugly.
Tim says
Don’t agree that we are in an economic boom, John. I think you must be talking from a narrow real estate perspective or from comparisons with Europe or USA. As for the employment figures, I believe real hours worked (the only real measure of employment) have declined and government fudge the figures to make themselves look good. You only have to work a few hours a week to be classified as “employed”, and there are a lot of people under mortgage stress that are doing it tough in this country..
Dom says
Interesting. Why does a lower population = lower standard of living? There needs to be a balance. In Australia’s current state i dont see how it can support a large population. Not because we dont have the resources but because we do a terrible job managing those resources. Having recently returned from living in the UK for over 5 years i am dismayed but the lack of decent infrastructure in our city’s (Sydney is shocking) and regional areas. It really is disgraceful how bad things are in this country in that respect. There seems to be no vision.
Richard says
hahahahaha … you deleted my post. i put up two facts, and you incorrectly label it as “racist” … i didn’t make any racist comment. fact.
i guess we’ll only see boring comments on this forum, and i guess it just won’t go anywhere except backwars because we’re too scared to discuss it … just like australia
Chivali says
With 1 in 4 Australians – actually not born in Australia – Julia G and Tony A included – I don’t see why there is any debate!!
Let the poor buggers in and give them a good feed . . .
That’s what a true Australian would do!
M Rekdale says
I do agree with John re the need for population growth but whoever is in power must make sure that growth is spread all over Australia and not concentrated in the major capitals. . Further there may be an economic boom in the larger cities of Australia but I can tell you that there is no ecomonic or real estate boom in sales or rentals on the Sunshine Coast of Queensland. In fact, many properties are being sold for less than what the owner purchased. At the moment, it is very much a buyer’s market and a tenant’s market. Many families are in mortgage distress, and both local Council and State Government are doing nothing to install confidence in the consumer or avert a shortfall in land supply. Large tracks of land close to major town centres languish because local and State Governments are not in favour of progress. If more people were able to come to the coastal towns, there would be better opportunities for small business,new industries, creation of new jobs etc.
George Martin says
It doesn’t matter who tries to go for the top job in Australian…If they haven’t had any experince running a business or running their own life how can they run the COUNTRY!!! What has to change is the people of Australia need to run the country again not the Politicians especially someone who doesn’t belive in God and who is living in a defacto lesbian homosexual relasionship..God forbit!!! If a certain person becomes the next PM I will leave this country for good and take all my family with me..
George Martin
Richard says
Jon, your articles always makes me think. Using infomation like this, and from other sources are a must for anyone who wants to prosper. You don’t have to agree with everything word for word, but OPEN your mind to how things REALLY are.
The media just need a headline, nevermind the facts.
People with mortage stress have done this to themselves. If the economy keeps on going strong and property prices go up the M-Stress folk will no longer be M-stressed.
Interest rates go up because people overspend and put up inflation, then the same people cry Mortgage Stress. They then say, it is not fair, Glenn, put rates down.
Pollies will say whatever is nessasary as long as the media agrees with it and hence project it to the public. EG: The Greens policy is to remove Family Trusts, increase company tax to 33%, remove capital gains tax, etc. They don not tell this to the media this they tell the media they will save the trees, and of course the media run with it and the public get sucked it. Sorry so being political.
The Observers says
We thought we’d let you know …
You are all ‘Earthlings’ and not one of you asked to be there.
What right do you humans think you have to be able to tell each other where you can and can’t go on your planet?
IT DOESN’T BELONG TO ANY OF YOU!!
That’s the biggest problem your Earth has ….
You humans think you can ‘buy and sell’ it and it’s resources like their yours.
Well let us tell you something ….
THEY’RE NOT!!
And the sooner you ALL realise this, the better the chances are that your planet will actually survive.
Never mind … It’s not long now.
Baiju says
I believe, it is important to bring migrants who are skilled. At the same time, Australian’s should focus more on education and training to build a great future for the country… It is ok, to allow some degree of refugee migrants, so long us this country can afford it… But, we make lot of noise on all these issues and end up spending more money by introducing lot of bureaucracy and legal formalities…
The worst thing this country facing is unwanted and unnecessary overheads of management layers and processes, by which so many are employed, but there are very few who does the work…
Tony Woodall says
Maybe those of us who are living a quality life don’t need a bigger population to make a “bigger and better” Australia.. Or is maintaining the status quo stagnating. Or is it enjoying the fruits of our labour.
I feel for those people overseas who want a better life in a better country without major political interference and without religous extremism, but should I reduce the quality of my life by risking sharing it with people who are foreign to me in their attitudes, religions and cultures.
U. Kennedy says
I agree with you Jon, I’d like to see though that the quality of Immigrants needs to be monitored and that they have a genuine desire to call Australia their home, are willing to learn the language and to be integrated and most of all bring much needed skills with them. We have enough Aussi Leeches who have and teach their kids and future generations the dole mentality…..Also, I would not want Australia to be sold out to Asians, please let’s keep a healthy balance….
t2 says
if the curry stinks so much why are australians lining up at expensive indian restaurants? Australia is not another planet. We share the same earth & cannot be locked in an area called a country. Today’s global economy would collapse if there was no trade & migration . India has the largest English speaking, educated population in the world. Indian students are contributing billions of dollars to the economy as Education is Australia’s second largest export.We cannot always rely on the resources boom & China to carry our economy.
beyond2010 says
Currently we don’t have any capable politicians to vote for.
Perhaps if a politicians wage would be greater than a top CEO’s we would get some decent – talented people competing for the top job in Australia.
Then again – I fear if someone came along who really had good intentions for the people and a sense for justice and fairness, they would probably get assassinated.
peter mcc says
Aussie Leeches?
Someones been watching too much Today Tonight.
I currently get Centerlink support and see a few uninspired folk once a fortnight but one thing is certain. No parent aspires to getting their kids on the dole and if you think about it, it only makes sense.
If you were jobless you would much prefer your kids getting better money either to get them out of your wallet or to flick some cash your way.
It’s fine for an economy to be structured in such a way that some folk are out of work. It’s not fine to then blame those who need extra training to get back in. Those that aspire to that mentality should move to the great US of A where “dog eat dog” is regarded as civilised.
Me? I’ll stick with a country that sails along nicely accepting immigrants AND training it’s people, but hopefully does it without stuffing up the environment along the way.
Carol says
I wish there were free speech in this country. Any anti-immigration statement is deemed racist, as the removal of my previous note testifies.
Richard says
I agree Carol. People get consfused between religion/thoughts/beliefs and race.
Craig Abernethie says
Yes the Big Australia. If they are true asylum seekers then we definitely should keep them. If it’s for educational reasons then yes we can make money out of them while their here. If it’s because we need tradesmen, well yes. Try to make a few more “homegrown” tradies but in the meantime let qualified tradies in from o/seas. However, could we make Cheap Housing available just like the Park Home and Leisure Village my mother lives in. She owns her house but she rents the Land in the village.
When I say cheap housing, I mean metal shed type homes with a concrete slab, double internal walls with insulation and Gyprock so they look like normal homes. That might stimulate demand for more Iron Ore. Now, that might put a few noses out of joint but we need Cheap Housing to make this work. Just my 3 cents worth due to inflation. Catch ya soon.
ian says
Having been born here in Australia . And being 10th generation australian on my fathers side and about 100,000 th on my mothers , i am witnessing things in this country that are both great and scary !!! . my belief with racism is that the people that point the finger at Australia are usually three times as worse than the people they accuse . I have an open mind when it comes to people and i do believe that we should assist when we can , lets face it , one day it could be you asking for the hand out .. In saying that the assistance offered should be in reason. Other migrants that immigrate to this country , under no circoumstance want to mix with or learn of Australian way of life . And would infact like to see us all die .. and has been brought up in conversations in front of me and with no fear of offending me what so ever…. they are a minority of people , but do live among us . .. as far as Australians being dole bludgers is a falsehood .
Vince says
Interesting article Jon – but it’s even more interesting how people get lose their way in the politics. The clear economic reality is that Australia needs population growth to maintain it’s long-term economic viability. In looking at population growth the most effective way to do this is via skilled immigration – its both short-term and give Australia the opportunity to pick and chose a work force that another country has actually paid for.
That said, migration = need for infrastructure growth = opportunity for those smart enough to realise it!
Hil says
I agree yes we do need more bods here. But why bring in poor ones? Why not bring the rich ones?
Another record Australia is going for that that is the longest time between recessions.
China and India are suffering from inflation so if they put the brakes on maybe we might get our recession.
Hey Ian (06. Aug, 2010 at 3:40 pm #) I agree that yes many immigrants who come to this country resist adopting the “Australian way of life” as you put it. Or maybe it just takes a generational change for this adoption to come through..(look at the Asians who came here in the Pauline Hanson 80’s)
As for Australians being dole bludgers Come on they have made it a national sport.
Solution: Get rid of ALL middle class welfare.
Get rid of all taxes across the board and replace it with a GST of minimum 35% ON EVERYTHING. And if that is not enough then make it 40 50 60 70% if need be but we have got to get rid of the ridiculous tax system that Australia has and tax spending not earning
Gwen says
No matter which way you look at it or which politician says, or does what, the worlds population is increasing and so is/will Australias’. I have been sitting on an invention for more than twenty years that, according to my research, will make billions. Unfortunately I need half a million dollars that I do not have to get it up and running. I tried for a while to find a business partner or investor but accessing these people is extremely difficult if at all possible. If there is a serious person out there with available funds who would like to meet with me to discuss a possible deal please get in touch. Please serious enquiries only, [email protected]
Red Laser says
What is the limit of Australia’s population?..this the pollies will not discuss..100 million people before 2100 and then doubling every 50 years will spell economic diasaster to this coastal fringe dwelling continent..get real…..water, power,farmland and the booming infrastructure of china can only be sustained by a totalitarian government not a democratic one and should be a signal for us to watch closely our population numbers..
David says
Thanks for the article Jon.
Bring on the big Australia,
If we as a country are to continue to be the best place in the world to live, then we need to welcome migrants with open arms. Australia has been built on migration and it will continue to be. Australia has the Resources and the water to sustain a much bigger population. Develope the northern half of the country thats where the water is. The world poputation is continuing to grow if we think we can close the borders of our great country then we are sadly mistaken. We will have population growth wether we like it or not. Lets take control of it and choose where it happens.
Baden says
Increased population will certainly increase demand for housing, goods and services. Therefore anyone invested in those areas stands to benefit from Australia getting bigger and bigger.
I run five thousand cattle on my farm. The farm next door is the same size and used to run 15,000. Now the country is wrecked and can barely keep five thousand cattle alive.
JJ From Perth says
Nothing wrong with immigration ,it is the quality of the immigrants that count.
Most of these boat people cannot string an English sentence together – there are many skilled people waiting for visa’s who cannot get them – this is the irony.
Also your figure of 13 500 per year is incorrect, for every one of these people that land here they eventually bring another 8 family members,thanks to reunion visa’s – so the true figure is over 100 000 per year.
wayne says
Thanks Jon,
I think most Australians dont want the imigrants . A little Australia was ok .
For anybody who thinks bring them in ,take a walk down the street and see who
attacks you ,it wont be an Aussie.
John R says
The greenies want to reduce our population, so we need to keep them at bay.
Colin says
I agree with Jon, There will be a big Australia whether people like it or not and I think we need to be big.
Do people really think that the rest of the world will let us shut the doors at 30 or 40 million when there are billions of people out there, it,s a good way to get invaded if we did.
Hopefully some enterprising individuals with vision will come into politics sooner or later and use the available technologies for power and water to build new towns and cities in this vast empty land.
Robert of Goodna says
Well, Jon, your message certainly lifted the lid on hidden agreement, as well as redneck fear of “difference”. We could share the potential of this country with a few million more (but not in the cities).
Mel says
Interesting article – I rise to the term “illegal immigrants” so popular with many politicians and media. As I understand it, asylum seekers are NOT by definition “illegal immigrants” They have international legal rights to seek shelter from life threatening situations. Did we stigmatise the people who fled across WW11 national borders to avoid gas chambers? And yes – not all asylum seekers speak English well, or even at all. But then neither were the European boat people (the ancestors of many of us) who followed James Cook, very fluent in the languages of the aboriginal nations they found here.
Kit Robertson says
Dear Jon,
I agree completely with Dick Smith. The biggest threatening mankind s overpopulation. The world’s resources are finite and we have to learn to live witin those limits. The sooner we act the better – stop the population increse now!
Kit.
Russell says
let’s open up our door to as many immigrants as we can…let’s allow the skilled ones to bring in their elderly relatives & give them the aged pension…let’s subdivide all our farming land to build housing for the increasing population…lets turn all our manufacturing .industries into high density housing (‘cos there’s no more primary production to support them)…THEN we can all import our food from developing nations (that still use chemicals & pesticides banned in most developed countries)…then we can start daming more rivers to supply water to cities to make it even harder for the farmers that are left to survive…then we can build more coal fired powerstations to supply electricity to the bigger & bigger cities…then we can start charging the population a carbon tax to justify the pollution that is getting worse..then…then…then….our economy is well & truly up the creek with no means of propulsion…*takes a breathe*…rant over…
John V says
I think controlled growth is good for Australia. We also need to consider the social and environmental implications. Whatever happens with our population, there will always be opportunities to create wealth. Even if we had zero population growth, I believe we could do a lot to grow the economy and grow individual wealth.
Infrastructure and housing needs to be developed in direct proportion to the population increase. Where will people live? What about our limited water supply? Desalination is very expensive and needs a lot of electricity. Our present electricity generation pollutes the atmosphere. Increasingly congested roads and public transport equals lower quality of life, in my opinion.
I am all for growth but there is surely an upper limit, although I believe Australia could accommodate at least twice as many people as politicians are currently arguing about. Inevitably, our existing cities will swell and new cities will emerge.
If housing development does not keep up with population growth, a few will prosper and a lot more people will suffer from ridiculously expensive rental prices. High rents are great for investors but bad for renters. Also, housing shortages cause prices to grow out of proportion to the rest of the economy.This is great for investors who already own homes but bad for those who are struggling to buy a home. Then interest rates go up in an attempt to slow the economy, causing further pain for struggling home-buyers.
I believe in abundance and the fundamental right for us to create wealth. I also have a social conscience. Unfortunately, most politicians are self-interested and usually don’t make decisions in the national interest.
I work in the immigration field (not government) and I agree with Jon Gian. Immigration is a political football because politicians try to incite emotional responses so they can get more votes. Immigration will continue regardless of who is in power.
Growth is good but we need balance. Life is full of challenges. I thrive on challenges and change. Bring it on!
Ariel says
To everybody.
We need population to populate Australia and bring new ideas and progress.
We need infrastructure to support all of that.
We need money for that infrastructure.
Now, who’s going to pay for it if everyone is against taxing the ones that can – miners.
Those that can help such a progress, are crying wolf and at the same time are making billions of dollars to invest in other countries and fatting up their bank accounts.
“True” Australians want what is good for our country. We fight and die for it and for those “fat cats”. We work our guts out to the point of loosing our family. We are already taxed enough with very limited benefits after working all our lives, “Those good Samaritans” are just looking after themselves and their shares.
Moreover, the government of the day and those anti-national “citizens” are selling the country to foreign powers just to look good at budget time.
It needs a leader with guts and backers that are not afraid of loosing their cushion full of perks job, or, the ministry title. I for one, with the risk of loosing my job, was very happy with Rudd’s decision in its 40% negotiable tax. He was doing what was in his truly Australian guts and therefore right for Australia.
By the way, I was not born in Australia.
kim says
All of you need to wake up and stop being so blind or how about you come and walk the streets of western sydney for just one day and see how uncomfortable it is to be a westerner. you get looked at like you don’t belong here and spat at and even verbal abused by the indians, asians and arabs in their own languages. 20 years ago even 10 years ago this would not happen and the trains and buses would not stink like curry. I guess everybody will realise all this when an indian,asian or arab will become australia prime minister so please take a minute and think about it or better yet come to places like Parramatta, Toongabbie, Lakemba etc. All of these other countries India, asia and Lebenon have gone to crap then what is that telling you? They are coming here for a better life! surething! They are coming here to live exactly the same way they are living over there coz thats the only way they know. Well i am not sticking around here much longer to find out that shit will really hit the fan!
Karu Hewett says
Fifteen hundred new Victorians’ every week is excessive when there are too many people homeless or facing homelessness. If this isn’t an experiment or agenda the powers that be would have found us all homes, employment and then we were comfortable, secure and happy then opened the door in Aussie goodwill.
I often ask the question, “How many people do you believe live in Australia?” Most people will answer 20- 22 million. After all that is what we are told. Those who can remember go back in time and remember 1969. Now look around in your memories. Check out the traffic, the size of the area you lived in, the width of the roads and lack of traffic lights. It has grown a lot hasn’t it? Now realise that In 1969 Brisbane was tiny, the Gold coast was made up of small towns of Southport and Surfers Paradise and there were very few living there. The Sunshine coast was virtually non existent and now these two areas join and it make a rim hundreds of kilometres long with a huge population.
In 1969 the borders of Stud Rd, Burwood Hwy and High street Rd and Cathys Lane Wantirna Sth had a total of 19 streets and roads. When you compare them with today, well, you wouldn’t want to count them all there are hundreds and that is just one tiny area of an ever growing Melbourne that now reaches 100kilometres east to west and almost that from north to south. Of course in 1969 all the suburbs had very large blocks, now there are many of those that now contain at least one other home on those blocks not to forget all the units.
The Australian population in 1969 was 12 million. I reason that if our population hasn’t doubled since 1969 (24 million) then really there should have been no more than 40 streets in 2004. Unless I am missing something here and there is a reasonable explanation I will continue to believe that our population figures are a huge lie.
Over 80 years ago there was major discussion on the optimum population of Australia. Mr. F.C Benham of the University of Sydney said. “It is about 10 to 20 million.” Professor Huntington of Yale University considered 15 million as a desirable population and said “The more I study this matter, the more I am filled with amazement that the Australians so constantly talk about the desirability of a larger population”. Professor East of Harvard University said. “Out of a total of 1904 million acres there are only 40 million acres of arable land by the most optimistic estimate”.
Think how many trees and arable acres of land have been destroyed in the last 80 years.
Unfortunately there were many back then who believed Australia could support 100 million people including the then High Commissioner, Sir Granville Ryrie who spoke of Australia being able to absorb 100,000 people entering the country every year. The solution was simple! Lower the standards of living to such a low level it will not matter. Is this making sense to you? This is happening now!
Part of the solution was to bring in immigrants from the third world. Ex PM Billy Hughes argued that people from the third world breed more often than us and eventually we would lose civilization as we know it.
The figure that they gave back then was to bring in 322,000 people a year to reach the target; that is about the same number that are entering Australia presently.
Labour PM Scullin when assuming office in Oct 1929 said: “Any hesitancy about receiving immigrants must not be conceived in an unfriendly spirit or as a lack of desire to fraternize with the peoples of other lands, but merely as a desire to protect Australians from misery and unemployment.” Today, almost 90 years later that knowledge is ignored.
What might come as a surprise is the fact that the Sudanese can rent a house at government subsidised rates. If they are unemployed they pay 15% of their wage or if they work they pay 25%. Banks are now bending over backwards to offer Muslims interest free home loans. Yet newly unemployed Australians who are pained at the prospect of losing everything they have worked for, through no fault of their own, but caused by government plans and agendas, are being treated harshly as though they are the blame by government, media, Centrelink and Job Network companies.
And for all you people who have a hard time with the unemployed, realise this, if the workers are paying the unemployed’s dole (and I could make a great argument that the unemployed pay their for own dole payment) there is 10,000,000 workers each contributing an unemployed’s $10,000 a year payment. So if you the worker was to work for 100 years and another Aussie was unemployed for that same amount of time you would have contributed a total of one cent toward him/her.
Vince says
Well… considering that the posts in this article are generally from people subscribing to wealth creation there’s some interesting prejudices going on here! Whatever an individuals personal beliefs may be, immigration is here to stay – build a bridge and get over it – take a deep breath and now say, “how can this work best for me?”. Couple this with the fact that social trends in Australia lag behind the western world by at least 7-9years, and those that are smart just see Australia as a speculators paradise – the future is just so predictable!
tony says
Hi Jon , only 45 years ago I was sitting next to Italian and European migrants at school that couldn’t speak a word of English and they helped build and en richen this country into the one we love today , Many of these people moved to the rural areas and worked hard to develop it , the snowy river scheme was one and many farming and wine growing areas , unfortunately many of the migrants coming in now are congregating in the cities in their own groups and bringing their own politics and problems , so give them all a shovel and send them out bush to develop new areas and stop them from crowding the suburbs where their developing a culture of segregation , intolerance and the belief that it’s ok to scam the system for all they can get and shit on the people that welcomed them here . As for the Politicians today most but not all lack integrity honesty and principals and will do what ever it takes to gain or remain in power ,their about as credible and believable as any tabloid publication, give them a shovel as well and something useful to do instead of wasting our taxes , A look at the how the Ossie revenue pie was cut 08- 09 shows $80,478 million went on government services while only $70,060 million in total went on Defense, infrastructure and education , we’d all be far better off with a lot less people telling us what to do and more people doing it .
Michael says
Not really sure if it’s been canvassed here, but the “populate or perish” debate interests me.
We (that is, Govenments), seem to caught in this mantra of madly incrreasing population (equals more revenue), then madly trying to build the required new infrastructure to support this new extra population (equals higher taxes – unpopular – or more population) to support the cost of the new Infrastructure. It becomes something of a self-perpetuating spiral.
Currently, we live in Canberra which now has a population of ~300,000. It used to be known as the “Bush Capital”, because (apart from being in the middle of nowhere) it had large tracts of otherwise unspoiled bushland and natural habitats. Now the Government is being forced to release ever more of these areas to developers to meet demand for housing as the population increases (the Government actually ran road shows in western Sydney, trying at attract people down here!)
Having lived in the area some 20 years ago, and returned in the last few, the place has definitely changed with the increased population – and not entirely for the better. What will it be like in 20-30 years when (if) we reach the Government’s hoped-for target of 500,000 people? We’re builing a place outside Canberra with space and without neighbours in our pockets, so in 20 years something like that will be sought after (and worth big $), so the population expansion in Canberra will be good for us. I fear not so for the people living (or trying to) in Canberra,,,
peter mcc says
Too bad there isn’t a “like” button for the previous postings, Jon.
I could have done a couple of clicks and encouraged those with a more accepting attitude towards migrants.
By the way, I’m not sure we fully comprehend how a zero growth economy would operate. It never gets discussed in detail in the media and I’m sure there would be a lot of shades of grey to examine. I’m not holding my breath waiting for that sort of coverage though.
Congrats on stimulating a reaction too. You may have discovered an obscure marketing technique that can be built off.
I hope so.
John says
I don’t get it, we still have people on the dole!
Politicians have forgotten who they work for!
With all the nearly free TAFE courses people could do and get back into the workforce, we wouldn’t need to go O/S for skilled people! Enforce the work for the dole!
Yet we have alot of people sitting on centrelink monies that we as taxpayers are shelling out for! Work for the dole will force alot of people back to the workforce and the government must start Infrustructure Projects to allow for more employment and business growth!
We can still let the cue jumpers in but we must cut off the incentives like 90% of the welfare payments we shell out. I have a neighbour who sits on her bum, has had 4 kids and got an 1800 dollar gift from the gov!
What the? I couldn’t get the dole and i’ve been a taxpayer for the last 20 years! Nearly 15 grand a year in tax for the last 20 years and i couldn’t even go to centrelink for a little help????? I’m all for the whole bleeding heart and help the unfortunate but COME ON!
Our Pensioners, alot of who cannot live on their measely handouts, can’t even get a decent rise to accommodate all the inflation driven price rises! They paid their dues and should be taken care of first and foremost!
People on less than 50k and under, a year, should not be paying tax on their wages because with the way things are so expensive they wouldn’t be able to save a penny!
or restructure the TAX SYSTEM to a simpler more effective way of revenue raising!
lets say 12% on wages earned across the board from the low income to high income earners! everyone pays their fair share! no write offs.
I don’t believe in Paid maternity leave because it means taxes will go up to cover the cost of it! They may tax the companies but then the companies factor it in to the price rises and or job losses!! It’s an evil and dangerous circle!
Think people!!!!
It’s not the governments money, its YOURS!!!!! For every cent they give back to you the less hospitals, police, schools, ambulance, teachers will have to provide the services we are already paying for! We all know what the solution is, we just need a leader who’s willing to step up and do the right thing and not get into gov using popular politics! I would do it for half the money these clowns are getting! I’d save a bucket load by streamlining the GOVERNMENT FIRST!
Mike Collett says
Hi Jon
Whilst I agree with much you say and you are obviously entitled to your opinion, I think you speak from a realestate point of view which is possibly colouring your persective.
My thought is we simply cannot continue to use growth as a wealth provider and sooner or later we WILL reach a saturation point where our quality of life is diminished and or we trash the planet beyond repair (which some say we have already passed).
More people is not the answer, politicians, business people and do gooders alike seem to think more is better YET, I fail to see one case where after a certain density is reached there are ANY further economic or any other benifits arise especialy quality of life.
Coming from England where dense living was almost manditory all I saw was horrific living conditions that lead to high crime rates and poorer living standards, which is the reason I came here!
I see similar problems in Japan and Germany both supposedly advanced economies, more people does not lead to better infrastructure, lower costs or any other benifit I can see, my rates don’t go down with higher density nor does my elecricity or water or cleansing.
What does happen is more greed more alienation more unrest more people on the street more dissatisfaction.
No, more poeple is NOT the answer unless you are just after profits at others expence.
Just my view Mike
Christine Human says
Giaan. you are forgetting one thing. All of us who came here by plane had a valid visa. Therefore the Immigration authorities knew who we were, and why we are coming to Australia. Even doctors in areas of desperate need comes here with a visa similar to a fruit picker’s visa, no access to Medicare, no access to public schooling and no Commonwealth place for your kid at uni. Get a life – Australia cannot cope without highly skilled immigrants like me and thousands of others. People like me who came here in a legitimate way do not like queue jumpers in size or shape. And under no circumstances should people be let in who have no hope of getting assimilated into the Australian way by the second generation, and integrated in the first.
barry says
Great debate. First ,we ,in WA need to break away totally fom ACT. We need people prepared to work. They may come from the other states or from overseas, but understand this state has evolved under a christian based constitution & would be required to fit in & not oppose our beliefs & traditions. We would then have more say in our own lives, not dictated to by the top dog in the east. Also we would be workng towards a more harmonious society. If we had a debit tax, non of us would need to do tax returns, that in turn would free up many paper shufflers that produce very little. As there would be no ATO there would be no fear of not having crossed the i at tax time. Watch this state growe. Paradise for those willing to work. Wealth would stay here. Be the envy of the other states.The less resourse rich states need to look at eg singapore. Wealth in their people, somebody must have an idea.
Yes we need the right people, prepared to fit in. But when do we say stop?
Mark says
Hi Jon
Love the artice, the guts to speak your mind and make sense of a very small issue that has been blown out of total proportion by the pollies.
Where is our compassion for providing a space for people from all over the world to have a better life for not only themselves but their families. What a great legacy to leave for your children and their children.
Lets have a balanced view at all times
Adrian says
G’day Jon, I enjoy your articles, a man of common sence in almost all areas, however, when it comes to a small population resulting in a lower standard of living I’ll have to say that that mentality is crap.
Iceland, a population of around 320 000, one of the highest standards of living on earth.
Norway, a population of under 5 000 000, one of the highest standards of living on earth.
Even New Zealand, with a population under 5 000 000 who’s standard of living doesn’t fall too short of Australia’s without the benefit of massive iron an coal deposits in their back yard is doing OK.
This big Australia propaganda is little more than hype from property developers and big businesses that need bodies in buildings and massive turnover to make a buck. Back when Australia had a small population, 6 mil, 8 mil, 10 mil, we still enjoyed one of the worlds highest standards of living.
Despite what climate change will do to our country the Australian climate has always been ruled by a cyclic el nino southern occillation. No government will ever be far sighted enough to manage water resources well enough to provide for the population we have already without severely impacting on the environment.
How are we going to get our rivers to flow with healthy volumes of water with an extra 16 000 000 in the country? The infrastructure in our cities is ageing and decaying, we can’t keep up providing for our present population let alone for “a big Australia”
We have to take responsibility for reducing the global and national population or we’ll all be living like plague rats, and rat populations always collapse spectacularly eventually.
Perhaps we should bite the bullet now and stop striving for ever increasing standards of living, which brings to mind the old maxim that we should “live simply so that others may simply live”
regards
Adrian.
Nicole says
Good article John. I’m an Aussie living in the UK so I notice massive changes in the country each time I visit home. Britain has lost so much of it’s culture over the past decade due to relaxed immigration laws. But on the flip side there is an enormous number of dole / benefit bludging Brits that won’t get off their back side to work. This leaves plenty of room for hard working immigrants (like me) to move on in.
I think the key thing is that those granted residency must be able to contribute to society. They must be prepared to pitch in, respect the country, community & culture, call it home. I really hope that Australia takes immigration seriously, it would be such a shame to see such an amazing country, a land of opportunity go down the drain because of opening the flood gates to those that want to take advantage of the handouts.
AJ says
Anyone who thinks Australia can support a doubling of population is naive. Our cities are already running out of water, and our farmers are struggling to grow enough food in the drought stricken food area’s. Sure there’s ‘enough’ atmo. But not the production capacity for a huge population, and you cant simply import it, as eventually all nations will be in the same boat, and food will be a scarce commodity. The only people who think that bigger is better are the greedy capitalist p*gs, who want more money for a bigger house and a faster car. Excessive population and ‘wealth’ growth is the road to environmental, social and planetary collapse.
Jeremy says
We simply cannot expand our population until our Government sort out the multitude of “population limitation” issues it has, such as infrastructure and policies!! I dont understand how narrow minded people can argue that we are being ‘racist’by reducing the numbers (note: not closing the door completely!). I mean seriously, lets get down to the real issue here, we need to wake up, we are becoming a nanna country if we cant simply speak of real issues here or anywhere else. We are a product of our Government, if they open the flood gates, my current 1hr45min each way journey to work will simply expand, I will not be happy for that reason alone, millions of others will not be happy – Fix the issues, provide your people with quality infrastrucure and support and by all means lets expand our nation to ensure we prosper.
Human&Proud says
To THE OBSERVERS above. Stop pretending you’re aliens! Do you realise how ridiculous you sound?? You would think aliens may actually be able to spell. And when we’re still alive and kicking in 2013 please disappear forever with your false predictions you friggin idiots!
Sam says
I don’t have a problem with migration and imigrants to come to Australia. We as Australians are sending our troops in support of an American/ Israli agenda and it is unfortunate that Australia is under the British Rule where even our Australian Government can not have a say on whether our troops will remain in Afghanistan or Pakistan.
Not to digress too much, the point i’m making is that we go over there and destroy houses and crush economies so we can later steal their resources for free, so therefore you have this high immagration from these countries that are seeking support and help so they come to us. What do we do? you think about it, over 75% of the Australian people are immigrants.
We can not have a say in any of this for it is political and is outside our control and comprehension. We believe what we see on TV because we have someone charasmatic standing in front of the camera getting told what to say or reading off a script that is put together by people in power to manipulate our way of thinking and our perception on life.
We as people need to rise by first to say no to these electronic devices which are making us look zombies, where we sleepwalk to work, to church, to the tax man and finally to vote.
We need to read and open our mind to various type of topics, we need to criticize our thoughts and ideas, we need to probe and never settle with second best. I’m sure over 60% of the Australian Citizen and I’m ashamed to say do not understand politics and these 60% vote purely on what the media says to do. we need to minize this percentage so later our kids can benefit from it.
We are getting lied to day after day where what once called a lie now became a norm so we left with this quote: at times of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.
Kourtney Bass says
First-class information it is really. We’ve been seeking for this update.
Shirly Bawany says
One of our grandsons went to school in New Zeland andwe would very much like to visit where he attended college.