On ABC TV Jan 28th 7.30 report the Australian PM appears to have backtracked on the idea of a "Big Australia" for which he said previously that he would make "no apology"

Are stages of governmental and media spin and treatment of forced population growth akin to the stages of grief-predictable and identifiable?

See also: "Rudd facing a Queensland backlash" by Bill Hoffman in the Sunshine Coast Daily of 30 Jan 10, "Rudd cools on a 'big Australia'" in the Age of 29 Jan 10, "Rudd on a 'big Australia'" on the 7.30 Report of 28 Jan 10, "Future Australians could face starvation: Dick Smith" on ABC online of 25 Jan 10, "Population debate needed: opposition" in the Mackay Daily Mercury of 25 Jan 10 (also published in the Shepparton News), "Poll shows Australians do not share rudd's vision for 'Big Australia'" of 10 Nov 09 by Bruce Billson MP, (former) Shadow Minister for Sustainable Development and Cities, "Population to now hit 35 million by 2049" in the Australian of 18 Sep 09.

Acland was the site of the last underground coal-mine in Queensland's Darling Downs, closed in 1984. Now the town itself will disappear into the maw of a vast new open-cut coal-mine, and with it all the creatures that cannot get a ticket out - like the koalas and the trees. Mark Copland asks, "What is the price of progress - and who will bear the cost? He compares the treatment of Acland people to the treatment of the people on the Planet of Pandora in the film Avatar, where miners from earth were prepared to sacrifice almost anything in the pursuit of more of something, which ultimately, will never be enough. Copeland says, "I am sure when the Acland mine was first proposed there was never any mention of closing down a town."

Originally published as "Community must ask who bears the cost of progress" by Dr Mark Copland of the in the Tooowoomba Chronicle of 5 Jan 10 (URL of article unkown).
See also: Web site of the New Hope coal company: www.newhopecoal.com.au (including environmental impact statements, newsletters and assorted other pro-coal-mining propaganda); Friends of Felton web sites: www.fof.org.au, www.friendsoffelton.blogspot.com. (See article for links to other articles related to Acland.)

What you can do: Sign e-petition calling for resignation of Queensland Government. For further information, please read "Why Queenslanders must demand new state elections" of 8 Jan 10. The original candobetter.org name of this article was originally "The Pursuit of Unobtainium in Acland, Queensland."

Film[Click on picture]: Writer and environmentalist, Mark O'Connor says that this is the first time since the mid 1990s that the ABC has interviewed someone from Sustainable Population Australia for the environmental view on population problems in Australia. I can't wait for them to interview someone from Candobetter.org. In the mean time: See also poll in The Age: "Suburban sprawl: Is a pause in extending Melbourne's boundary a good thing?" (Obviously the answer is "Yes"). See also "Madden Backflip on outer urban expansion" link inside.

This story is based on a report on France2 television news about growth in public and private stock of photovoltaic panels in France, payments by Electricite de France (EDF)for contributions to the electricity grid, tax rebates available, income from providing electricity to the grid and prospect of funding retirement through this for farmers and others with roof and other space. The bottom part of the article contains comments about the situation of rebates etc in other countries. Readers are asked to add comments about their own experiences. We can build up an international policy data base here.

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']

This is a really great speech, empowering and intelligent. If anyone can save Australia's democracy, environment and quality of life, it may be Kelvin Thomson, who speaks clearly over the constant dull roar of the growth merchants. Jill Quirk, President of the Victorian Branch of Sustainable Population Australia (SPA) is to be congratulated on attracting much interest in this meeting. Speech on You-tube.

The overwhelming focus of the mainstream press has been on a detail of Thomson's overall population numbers reform proposal, which was to cut the automatic entry for New Zealanders to Australia. So far the Canberra Times and The World Today on the ABC stand out for showing public responsibility by looking beyond the New Zealand issue and at what Thomson actually had to say. It will be eerily fascinating to see to what new lengths the Murdoch and Fairfax Press will go to try to destroy this politician and confuse the electorate about his outstanding environmental and democratic courage on behalf of Australians everywhere. Where to from here? Kelvin Thomson will be the guest speaker at a Public meeting run by Sustainable Population Australia (Victorian branch)on Sunday November 29th at 3.00pm. Topic: Population reform- Political challenges, at Meeting Room 1 North Melbourne Library 66 Errol St. North Melbourne - Convenor will be Jill Quirk, President of SPA Victoria.

A political poem by Walter Grahame in the fine old Australian tradition.
"Sure, we are girt by sea and girt by c02 and girt by bloody methane to put into the brew.
We're girt by politicians who won't de bloody bate that overpopulation will be our terminal fate
We've species loss, degraded soils and environmental squalor, and bloody blind self serving bastards in it for a dollar!"

Nuclear power is promoted by the growth lobby as an investment opportunity which will provide employment, international importance, and new industries. Rationales offered to the public are the [manufactured] imperative to provide power for projected (politically engineered) population growth and the desirability of off-setting greenhouse gas contributions from coal-fired electricity and coal exports. (Australia is the world’s largest coal exporter.) Australian planning is dominated by what the corporate sector wants. There are many indications that public sector scientists are expected to support private, corporate research and development rather than leading with public research responding to public need, which might result in moderation rather than accelerated consumption. Let's look more closely at this 'investment opportunity'. See also "Normalising endless immigration and coupling it to nuclear power in Oz"See also "Ziggy Switkowski, Population Numbers and Nuclear in the Australian"

Water, your life depends on it. And the state governments, whose responsibility it is, are not managing it properly. Fair Water Use is asking people to help with a national campaign, which is calling for the declaration of a State of Emergency regarding the Murray-Darling Basin and for independent management at a different level of government. We the people have to do something; we cannot leave it to state or national Australian governments alone; our lives may be at stake.

"By now Denton had got himself out of the blanket and when I got back with the sedative he was pressing on the car's accelerator and the engine was revving loudly." A Rosemary and Steve Garlick wildlife story.

In a letter to the Melbourne Age, Mark O'Connor, author of "Overloading Australia" noted that contrary to his earlier claims that immigration had been "slashed", Immigration Minister Chris Evans has recently admitted we have "an unprecedented, unplanned migration wave". In 2008 he claimed net immigration was half what the Bureau of Statistics had said it was. Whether this is through design or incompetence, Evans is clearly serving vested interests at the expense of ordinary Australians and, accordingly, should resign.

See also Overloading Australia - new book about Australia's overpopulation problem of 23 Jul 09 by Sheila Newman, Review by sociologist, Katharine Betts of Overloading Australia of 8 Apr 09, "Migration rules set for revamp" in the Age of 31 Aug 09, Want job, will travel in the Age of 31 Aug 09, Workforce ripe for the picking by John Sutton, national secretary of the CFMEU in the Sydney Morning Herald of 31 Aug 09.

"We knew we were gone when the Judge said,
'Time's up, you’ve got one more issue you can raise.' We hadn’t even started. We had only just got past the argument where she dismissed both our ecologists’ reports." Before it has even been run, the REPCO car race has damaged local democracy with impacts far exceeding local boundaries. Environment and democracy, go hand in hand. Environmental destruction and corruption follow closely behind destruction of democracy through unbridled commerce. We think that all judges in the land should be concerned about this.

See also: Repco Rally route - the calm before the storm of 26 Aug 09, URGENT! Contact Peter Garrett re Injunction to stop Repco Rally of 29 Aug 09, Removing Environ laws results in violence"of Sep 5, 09.

Tired, angry, frightened by your government and big business? Surrounded by hysterical idiots? ABC and the shockjocks make you grind your teeth? Don't know where to turn? Need to get a grip? - Look for the Joe Toscano anarchist pod-casts on 3CR Victoria. You can download his soothing but relevant political counsel every week. It's all about relocalise, energy, population, democracy and land-tenure. It's called anarchism, and Joe is the only person I've ever heard talk about it coherently and simply.

"There is no reasonable prospect that Australia will reduce its total level of greenhouse emissions, while our population grows by 1 million every four years, as is presently the case. Population stabilisation must be part of the plan to contain greenhouse emissions, not merely for Australia, but for the rest of the world as well." See also: more by Kelvin Thomson Interview at 10.30 ACT time Radio 2UE.

The estimated resident population of Australia at 30 June 2008 was 21.4 million people. This was an increase of 1.5 million people or 7.7%. Australia reached those numbers with an average growth rate of 1.5% per annum. Since then the growth rate has increased again, up to 1.9, which gives a doubling time for our population of 38 years.

Not good.

New writer on lifestyle, Gloria O'Possum, describes life indoors, living with humans in a possum-box, partly financed by the Australian Wildlife Protection Council (AWPC). See also: "Living with wild animals"

Economist, Ross Gittens, discusses the state of the recession in Australia in the Business Age, 13-7-09. He made a comment about China needing lots of steel and energy - the very commodities that Australia supplies. This common use of misleading terminology fosters misunderstanding of what is really happening.

"Russia has just announced a ban on all kangaroo products from the 1st August, citing consistent contamination." Lately our politicians have been "trying to convince the Chinese to buy the rejected Russian export kangaroo slush. " (Pat O'Brien, ex-butcher and current President of Wildlife Protection Association of Australia - Patron Steve Irwin).

Humans have moved into native animals' backyards yet many of us get upset when there is a possum in our roof and go to all ends to remove it by having it relocated. Some farmers even shoot these hapless animals that are only looking for somewhere to sleep during the day and something to eat. We have a responsibility to them because we caused this situation and it's possible to not only share our space but give back some habitat to them. Here's what happened to a friend of mine recently when a possum moved into his house..... See the sequel to this story.

Subject: Lost Cat found........... posted by Japanese students renting in Brunswick, Victoria. And feeding it cat food too! More inside on this amazing story.See also: Living with wild animals

Not so long ago, a giant thermal rain-bearing wind carried moisture inland from giant forests on the eastern coast of Australia. The giant thermal has disappeared along with the rain. Read why.
See also, "Deforestation drys continents - new theory explains how" Also see, at end of article, a short report about DSE from defenders of the forest at Brown Mountain.

FairWaterUse: "The right to water will be declared an essential human right as a global commons. Under this definition, the right to water will be given precedence and advantage, in international and local law, over any other interests. Access to water will not be subject to market forces or to private or corporate interests. The precautionary principle of ecosystem protection must take precedence over commercial demands on water." The closing date for submissions to the Human Rights Consultation process established by the Federal Government is June 15th 2009.

Surrender Australia to overpopulation now, argues "demographer" and investment spotter Bernard Salt, rather than have China lean on us later to take in its millions! (Australian, April 30th, ""No room to be smug as population peaks"). Mark Simpson has had enough of this beating on the "yellow peril" racist drum. See also "Working man's vegetable plot under threat again"

The Rudd government April 7th 2009 announcement of a plan to finance and construct a massive 'fibre-to-the-node' broadband network -- supplying service to 90% of Australian homes is a remarkable sea change in public policy. This article discusses the financing and timing of this proposal - and the PM's remark that it would ultimately be privatised. (Article by Tristan Ewins, originally published on leftfocus.blogspot.com on 7 Apr 09.)

"The case for re-nationalising Telstra" of 13 Jan 09 also by Tristan Ewins (also on Online Opinion), forum discussions "The broadband revolution" and "Monday Message Board" on johnquiggin.com, "Other projects will pay for hare-brained scheme" by Kenneth Davidson in the Age of 9 Apr 09, citizensagainstsellingtelstra.com.

For those with their eyes open population growth and the immigration that fuels it are never out of the news. ... unaffordable housing drives young families into debt slavery (even pushing some to the less-expensive urban fringe where a number died in Melbourne’s recent fires)... strained infrastructure leading to blackouts, cancelled train services... traffic congestion, draining energy from the economy and from human lives...hospitals that can no longer care for the people they serve... water supplies that dwindle as drought and growth desiccate cities and stretch the capacity of farms... pleasant suburbs degraded by intensive redevelopment; greenhouse gases ...and a natural environment wilting under the burden of numbers.

There is a story that about 50 years ago the President of Mexico said that they should grow the population to "put Mexico on the map".
In Australia we have heard the same thing and now we see the predictable (and predicted) results. Fortunately we have abundant records to trace the politicians and individuals responsible for these harmful policies and to show that they were warned, over and over.

"If you purchase two copies of The Age this Saturday, soak one in the bath overnight and read the other. Think of the copy coming out of the bath, as the landscape prior [to the impact of repeated fires] and the dry paper, as the landscape is today." (Article by Duane Norris for Natural Sequence Farming)

Guns' mills are faltering. The Japanese company, Nippon, has just bought the Latrobe Valley's Paperlinx factory, at a time of major downturn in woodchip prices. It seems like a very risky purchase - even if they got it dirt cheap. But is this a buyers' market or a fire-sale?

Fall in wood-chip imports is related to the fall in production of cars, machine tools, electronic goods and mobile phones. How so?