149 / Australia can and should aim for a larger population.
The current population debate is somewhat confused: The popular opinion seems to be supporting a limited population increase; PM Gillard talks of a 'sustainable population'.
But what does that mean … from following the pre-election discussion in the media it seems she uses the term to advocate stunted population growth. The problem is, government and opposition don't go to the bottom of the issue of sustainability … indeed, that would mean to make some hard decisions.
An article in The Age a while ago by Michael Danby stated: "More people does not equal trashing our environment." He makes the point that many Western developed nations (Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia inter alia) are grappling with contracting populations and are facing huge problems for it.
He goes on to say: "I do not accept that population growth and protecting our environment are incompatible. Australia can increase its population and still manage our water problem. We must cut our water consumption, better conserve water, modernise irrigation and invest in desalination." This was written in January 2010.
But today the notion of population growth is unpopular. The government has convinced the public that the water shortage problem can only be solved by limiting population growth. This is a tragic error of judgement … one brought into the discussion by laziness, fear and inability to embrace new technologies, to make investments that work toward using our water resources more effective.
Why do we drain rain water into the harbour/ocean/rivers in our big cities? Why do we drain our rivers into the ocean? Why don't we recycle used water … dare I say sewage? The media says, "who wants to drink sewage?" Well, nobody. Would I drink water recycled from sewage? Of course I would! In fact, we've been doing it since life began … every drop we drink has previously gone through some living organism.
It needs courage and a shift in the mind-set to deal with the water shortage issue in a constructive way. To try and do it by limiting population growth is counterproductive (our economy will suffer) and, anyway, we're only pushing the problem further along.
While it is true that the world has an over-population problem, minimal growth here in Australia should not be our aim. It is also true that the world has limited resources, but it is up to our politicians, our scientists and industry to make best use of those resources. To limit population growth and to do it by limiting immigration intake is - in view of our wide open spaces in Australia - a slap in the face to countries like China, Bangladesh, India. We owe it to those countries - and the countries whose refugees need to be accommodated - that we solve the water shortage problems ourselves, not by depriving them of a share of our continent.
Obviously there are many more factors to be considered when we talk about sustainability. To name a few: Public transport instead of individual motor vehicle transport; local food production to be increased, not decreased: Don't turn anymore market gardens into housing; stop the urban sprawl … immigrants to be settled in regional towns, not the big cities: Support the growth of communities in country areas; Green energy (see blog 148) etc.
But the bottom line for all this is: Protect and make better use of our water resources.