In a Parliamentary speech, Glen Elmes₁ warned how the vast discretionary powers, given to the Minister for Infrastructure and Planning, Stirling Hinchliffe (pictured), with his past history as a property development industry insider, would add to the consequences of SEQ's already shambolic urban planning and environmental management and runaway population growth.

Speech from Queensland State Parliamentary Hansard of Hansard of 12 Feb 10, linked to from Hansard page, See also: "SEQ Regional Plan a travesty against the people of South East Queensland" of 9 May 09 by Dr Jane O'Sullivan, "The downward spiral of hasty population growth" of 8 Mar 10 on Online Opinion by Dr Jane O'Sullivan.

Please attend public forums against population growth, featuring Kelvin Thomson, Mark O'Connor and others. Brisbane: 8:30AM - 12:30PM, Saturday 13 March, Sunshine Coast: 2:00PM-4:30PM, Sunday 14 March.(See article "Sunshine Coast environmentalists condemn sham population debate" for more details.)

The combination of economic 'reforms', globalisation and high immigration have dramatically worsened circumstances for working Australians in recent years. However, the situation is vastly worse in the United States. David Seminara's exhaustively researched article describes the effect of the H2-B visa system for unskilled non-agricultural temporary workers. Australia does not (yet) have such a direct equivalent for non-agricultural workers, nevertheless, the general conclusions about the effects of one aspect of the high rate of immigration into the US remain highly relevant to the consideration of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's plans to dramatically increase Australia's population through immigration.

Original article, by David Seminera, published in February 2010 by the US Center for Immigration Studies. Also published there as a pdf file (400K).See also: Will Rudd Government's high immigration program turn Australia into Argentina? of 19 Jul 08.

Michael Danby, chairman of Federal Parliament's joint committee on migration, in recent newspaper articles, expresses support for Australia having a population of 35 million by 2050.

See also: "It's better for us to sustain skilled migration" by Michael Danby in The Australian of 8 Feb 10, "Refugee lobby's 10 commandments" by Paul Sheehan in The Age of 16 Oct 09, "More people does not equal trashing our environment" by Michael Danby in The Age of 14 Jan 10, "Rudd's policies make us a soft target" by Paul Sheehan in The Age of 14 Oct 09, "Greens want immigration cut" by Cathy Alexander in The Age of 1 Feb 10.

The Australian has run yet another beat-up by KPMG corporate partner, Bernard Salt, trying desperately to justify continued high immigration. Mark O'Connor, author of Overloading Australia comments.

(Ed. The subject of this article may seem hackneyed, but it is well worth reading.) The word "sustainable" or "sustainability" has been rendered meaningless and oxymoronic by its attachment to the most invasive development proposals and economic activity. But authentic sustainability does not lend itself to semantic pluralism. It can only mean the viablility of the whole, not its constituent parts. There is really only one kind of sustainability.

One of the most important principles internationally when referring to greenhouse gas reduction schemes it that the polluter pays. This means that national targets for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions should be based on the historical contribution of each nation to global emissions. It is obvious that Australia's population growth policies have a enormous impact on our greenhouse gas emissions.

National President of SPA, Sandra Kanck, says “If we pause on Australia Day to reflect on our identity, our thoughts should turn to reforming the anthem. It is an absolute nonsense to say that this continent has boundless plains to share, as is claimed in the second verse of the anthem."

The Growth Lobby seemed to have gone to some trouble to justify encouraging more immigration to Australia by making a detailed case on Wikipedia under the search heading: "Immigration_to_Australia"

Typically the arguments are the same old tired justifications that rely on historic success and links to economic growth, but they are shallow, unsupported and rely on claims by the biased Productivity Commission.

See also: "How the Growth Lobby threatens Australia's future" of 24 Jan 09.

Easter Islanders blocked their airport for 24 hours recently to demonstrate their right to say how big a population the island could have, and to save their natural environment. Amazingly the Chilean Government listened.

"Agent Provocateur" asks, "What is the definition of a racist?" I will give him a North American definition.

It is a common assertion, even among those who oppose global overpopulation, that immigration, or the migration of people between regions and nations, is irrelevant to the issue. As one blogger here put it, it is really just a question of "shuffling people around." This is dead wrong. Not only does emigration stimulate fertility and typically multiply ecological footprints, it is enormously destabilizing in its impact. In effect, migration lowers our global carrying capacity.

Are Australians being patriotic or simply bigoted, for wanting to contain immigration numbers?What is the definition of racist? What is the definition of patriotic? Do Australians have a right to be patriotic.. and concerned & protective of their dwindling assets, namely land and water?

The Courier-Mail reports that the average annual houshold electricity bill will rise nearly 14% or $276 next year, on top of the huge increases Queenslanders have already copped since the privatisation and deregulation that former Premier Beattie assured them will result in reduced charges. In spite of acknowledging this and population growth to have been the cause, the Courier-Mail editorial failed to argue against the continuation of either.

See also: "Exposing Queensland Government population growth duplicity" of 1 Apr 09, "Courier Mail spins news of 79% opposition to fire sale to reveal its privatisation colours" of 11 Dec 09, "The Courier Mail beats the drum for more Queensland population growth" of  Jan 07.

What you can do: Queensland citizens can sign the e-petition calling for the resignation of the Queensland Government and new elections. See "Anti-privatisation e-petition calls on Queensland government to resign" for further information.

When Australia has an annual record 383,000 net migration this last year we have what is tantamount to foreign invasion by stealth. It is an 'immigration invasion'.

Howard started it and Rudd has perpetuated it. Australians are being pacified and re-educated into believing misleading justifications like economic growth, addressing skills shortages, multi-culturalism, being a world citizen, etc.

[This article was initially a comment to Sheila Newman's article 'Australia's governments are coordinating an unarmed invasion without your permission']

60% of our population growth is due to immigration. This is basically on-going colonisation!
The best estimate of the First Fleet, that we celebrate on Australia Day, is 1373 people.  Today the numbers of permanent and long-term migrants arriving in Australia to more than 500,000 a year. 
The Roman Empire, built by controlled immigration, perished under an onslaught of uncontrollable barbarian migration.
( photo source )

The media froth and bubble over recent asylum seekers arriving by boat near Ashmore Reef mid ocean between Timor and the west Kimberley coast pales in comparison with the daily arrivals at Kingsford Smith Airport in the middle of Sydney.

The Australian newspaper on 2nd November 2009, tallied the total number of Christmas Island detainees at 1165. Yet Australia receives 776 new immigrants per day and most arrive into Sydney by plane. This is where the media should have their cameras - at Kingsford Smith Airport's International Arrivals gate on the ground floor.

For 2008-09 natural increase was 157,000, and net overseas migration 283,300. This constitutes an invasion, especially viewed in its cumulative effect. It is the result of government advertising and other policies. We were not asked. No matter how you measure it, net migration has never been so high. According to the ABS, Australia now outstrips Canada in having the developed world's highest immigration and population-growth rates. Ever wonder how Mexico, the Philippines, and Africa became third world overpopulated countries? Just watch what is happening to Australia and ask yourself, if you aren't trying to stop this, why not?

If Australia's current growth rate continues, the population will double in 35 years. That means our population would be 44 million by 2045. Only one Australian politician - Kelvin Thomson - is trying to do something to stop this democratically. If you would like to help, come along NOVEMBER 29 and give support and discuss. If you support this, so will other people and the other politicians and parties will have to listen. See also: http://candobetter.org/taxonomy/term/1325 Update - film of the speech!

Carr: "I need only summarise the indictments of such high-end population growth." ..."It also spikes the cost of land and cruels housing affordability."

First it was Kelvin Thomson MP and now Bob Carr former Premier of NSW speaking out strongly about the increase of population being forced on us by Federal and State. Will this strike a chord and open Pandora's box for the government? Will the silent majority finally speak out?

A history of pronatalist policy in Australia from 1945-2000 reveals the seeds of today's push for bigger families. This is an interesting supplement to the drive for high immigration and a huge population in Australia. It also gives an account of the role played by The Movement (B.A. Santamaria) in the Australian Labor Party's long exile from government before Whitlam. Some interesting background on Labor Party figures currently in government or recently in opposition.

Australian Greens Leader Bob Brown says Prime Minister Rudd should explain what the end effect of population growth to affect economic prosperity will be. "No world leader can ignore the planet's population burden. There were 3 billion people when Kevin Rudd was born. There are 6.8 billion now. There will be 9 billion by mid-century. This population boom is not economic wisdom, it is a recipe for planetary exhaustion and great human tragedy."
"We need the wisdom to have economic growth with a steady-state population at most - this is the new common sense," Senator Brown said. See also inside full text of Matters of Public importance speech by Senator Brown on population numbers.

Continuously increasing mass immigration leading to growth of the Australian population to 35 million and beyond is now official Australian state dogma. In other words, 14 million - more than was the population of this country when I was a child in the 1960's - is to be deliberately added.

Mr Rudd has set his reckless course and will not be diverted. See also "Normalising endless immigration and coupling it to nuclear power in Oz"

"Mr Rudd is responsible for one of the highest immigration rates in decades so his line on the current influx of asylum seekers is simply a smoke screen to avoid public discussion on the bigger issue of the immigration blow-out."
"Were Australia a compassionate nation, it would be taking in more asylum seekers and fewer skilled migrants, according to Australia’s only environment group dedicated to lower population, Sustainable Population Australia (SPA)." (Sandra Kanck, SPA National President)

The abuse of the word “racist” is manipulating us into silence and being used to enforce policies that were appropriate and beneficial in past decades, but are not appropriate for Australia in the 21st century.

Immigration-fed growth in the economy is good only if it raises the real average incomes of the existing population.

If it doesn't, we're running a high immigration policy mainly for the benefit of the immigrants, who are able to earn more in our country than they were in their own country.

Real estate speculation occurs on previously unknown levels via the global Internet, with rapid convergence and mushrooming of of speculative industries and professions across government and private sector. At Federal level, the National Foreign Investment Review Board (NFIRB) promotes foreign investment in local real estate and encourages housing purchases by temporary immigrants for high turnover. Local realtors tout Australian property internationally, using private migration agents and local solicitors. At State level (where land use planning laws are made), organizations like the Property Council of Australia (PCA) are closely involved with determining government policy. The Australian citizen has less and less say in any of this.

MP Kelvin Thomson has come out with sound arguments pointing to the absolute folly of continued population growth in Australia. Immediately there is an absolute tsunami of growthist propaganda coming out of every media organ. We look here at how professional lobbyist for population growth and a built environment, Bernard Salt, handles this crisis by suggesting that the foxes be given more power in the hen-run. We suggest that maybe the professionals should stay out of the 'debate' this time and leave it for the citizens. Bernard is also predictably suggesting that all this population growth means we must go nuclear. More on this and for the logistics of power supply and the costs of setting up nuclear in Australia, and, on the Press and the Growth Lobby, Bernard Salt and Murdoch press cook up recipe for invasion. See also "Normalising endless immigration and coupling it to nuclear power in Oz", "Ziggy Switkowski, Population Numbers and Nuclear in the Australian"

(source: Wikimedia commons)
There is no easy solution to the economic impacts of an ageing population. However, we need to stabilize our numbers, not replace older people through adding more people! We all must share the pain until. The alternative, an overloaded Australia and the implications of the erosion of our ecosystems, destruction of our wildlife habitats, loss of arable land, the threats of water and food shortages, and climate change, all need to be taken into consideration

Rudd recently said that Australia "will continue to be a nation of immigrants into the future." This remark prompted discussion on environmental lists about the PM's brain-box or sincerity because people wonder if he seriously contemplates indefinite exponential immigration. In fact there has been a barrage of similar material on the media from various officially anointed 'authorities', coinciding with Kelvin Thomson's recent criticism of government engineered population growth. The growth lobby is also taking advantage of the situation to market nuclear power as an inevitable, with no more interest in whether we can afford it than they have shown in the other costs to the public of their high immigration fetish.See also: "Nuclear power, totalitarian spin and overpopulation in Australia", "Bernard Salt on the Population 'debate'> and See also "Ziggy Switkowski, Population Numbers and Nuclear in the Australian"