More population - more congestion
Photo © WPSQ'Growth can make Queensland more liveable, prosperous and sustainable,' stated the Hon. Anna Bligh, Premier for Queensland.
The opening speech by the Premier at the Queensland Growth Summit demonstrated government and developer views that population growth is a positive thing for Queensland.
Wildlife Queensland attended the summit – we considered many of the initial presentations one-sided and little was said about sustainability and liveability. These economic presentations sought to portray the population issue as an issue primarily about economic prosperity. This was of extreme concern considering that one of the presenters was apparently representing the views of the Premier's Advisory Panel. This particular issue deserves some clarification.
Although the presentations were biased, it was pleasing to see a strong voice from what appeared to be a large number of stakeholders concerned about the impacts of growth on liveability and the environment. This was largely reflected in the workshops. Participants were divided into groups and asked to respond to the themes of the summit (prosperity, liveability and sustainability) with their own ideas. This was a great opportunity for delegates to raise their concerns and put their ideas on the table. It will be interesting to see whether the strong support for the protection of the environment and liveability raised in these workshops will be reflected in the Government documents, soon to be released. These views were definitely not captured by the Summit survey which contained a series of leading questions which may have achieved very biased results.
During the summit there was a lot of talk about regionalisation. Most of this discussion was focused on the need to 'spread the load around' rather than addressing the real issue of stabilising population growth. Wildlife Queensland expressed their views that regionalisation should be used as a tool to enable the transition from a pro-growth economy to a stable growth economy.
Brisbane crowds grow
Photo ©WPSQWildlife Queensland and other environmentalists pushed for a commitment for the State Government to lobbying the Federal Government to stabilise Australia's population. It was disappointing that there was no attempt to even answer or discuss the question of 'what is a sustainable population?'
The Premier did however recognise the need for a Federal population policy. While this is considered a step in the right direction, Wildlife Queensland advocates that the Government lead the way and develop a sustainable population strategy for Queensland which stabilises the State's population to an ecologically sustainable level on a state and regional basis.
While it is positive that the Government has now acknowledged there is a problem, we are still a long way from achieving the necessary action. The Government still fails to accept that there are limits to population growth and the need to stabilise our population growth.
The summit was an opportunity for the pro-growth supporters to relay many of the myths about population growth. Here are a few of the misconceptions raised at the Growth Summit.
Read more about population growth
For more information on Wildlife Queensland's activities, call us on +61 7 3221 0194 or send us an email. |
