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Driving to work, taking the train, going to the beach. Queenslanders are experiencing the impacts of population growth daily. The federal government is pushing for a 'BIG AUSTRALIA' and the state government is welcoming and encouraging population growth.
With population growth unchecked, health and education systems will continue to falter, the degradation of our environment, of high quality agricultural lands and of public open space will be the norm - while water and energy will become scarcer and costs will escalate beyond an acceptable rate. There is a deep concern in the community over the impact of such growth on our environment and our standard of living.
At long last, our planet’s most pressing issue - population growth - is being given an airing in mainstream media and on the floors of parliaments around Australia.
There are now more than 4.4 million Queenslanders - with almost 70% of these residents in south-east Queensland (SEQ). It is estimated that by 2031, Queensland will be home to 6.3 million people and that the population of the State is expected to double over the next 40 years. This rapid growth is concentrated in SEQ and a number of coastal provincial cities. However the stress of such growth is already being felt throughout Queensland. Coastal cities are faced with huge projected population increases and are being hit by the impacts of urban expansion resulting in congested roads, overcrowding, degraded environments, loss of farmlands and public open space. Western areas of Queensland, where projections suggest little or no change in current population levels, are faced with huge pressures from demand for resources and associated infrastructure to accommodate export driven trade as well as the increases in population from other areas.
In the past there has been some debate about whether population growth was considered a core issue for Wildlife Queensland. It is now evident that population growth is, in fact, one of the biggest threats to our biodiversity and is the driver in a complex chain of direct and indirect threats to our ecological life support systems. Without addressing this issue much of our work to protect wildlife and their habitat will be of no avail.
It is now time for the Government to act on population growth!
The Queensland Premier must lobby the Federal Government to stabilise Australia’s population. The Government must commit to developing a Sustainable Population Strategy for Queensland, which stabilises Queensland’s population to an ecologically sustainable level on a state and regional basis. Regional carrying capacities (resource and population limits based upon agreed sustainability indicators) must be determined and reflected in our regional plans. The Government must ensure that regional plans do not fit arbitrary growth targets but are based on the preservation of our lifestyle and enhancing the environment while satisfying economic needs.
What WPSQ is doing:
- Read the Submission to the
Population Policy Inquiry (
 2.7mb), Local Government Association of Queensland
by
Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland, Bayside Branch.
- Wildlife Queensland recently attended the Queensland Growth Management Summit.
- Wildlife Queensland is currently reviewing its population policy and will be forwarding a finalised copy to the Government. Copies of the current policy can be made available by contacting head office.
What you can do:
Express your concerns about population pressures on the environment and your lifestyle.
More Information:
For more information on Wildlife Queensland's activities, call us on +61 7 3221 0194 or send us an email.
Last Updated April 2010 |
