The only population Labor cares about is its own

Russell says:

07:29am | 29/06/10

John Cobb – the Coalition and your boss Tony Abbott is not the only one upset that one of the first things Julia Gillard did was steal one of your dog-whistles about immigration.

You are right, “sustainable” means nothing. It has become the most over used non-word in the political lexicon. But this non-policy was designed to defuse the Coalition’s and Morrison’s increasingly hysterical scare-mongering about “immigrants”. What bothers you is that it will work.

Your allies in the “population debate” are the Greens, and they will be annoyed too. They has planned to make a big deal about Rudd’s so-called “big Australia”. Now they’ve had the rug pulled out from under them as well.

Sherekahn says:

09:49am | 29/06/10

The pressure to provide housing will be a key policy challenge for government.
So is Australia getting full?
With immigration projected to drive too much of our population growth, the polls suggest voters think the answer is “Yes”.
Next to the economy, immigration is the second most important issue, 
  Quality of life!
High-rise housing caused social chaos in the UK.  We do not want it here!
And from where will come the tens of billions to build the infrastructure - the sewers, water treatment plants, power stations, hospitals, schools, roads, etc?
It’s “crazy” to be using workers from halfway around the world when there is a huge unemployed workforce at home.
Globally, e-waste is growing at a rate of about 40 million tonnes per year as consumers, in both developed and developing nations, buy new gadgets and discard their old ones
For every $billion made by business expansion another $billion or more will be spent by Taxpayers for their Rates, Mortgages, Travel expenses and Doctors fees for their rising stress medicine.
Politicians and many Businessmen can claim these items on ‘Expenses’.
We people do not want or need this expansion.  Crush the Politicians at the next Election and vote for a Party willing to control Population, maybe the ASPP, or NOW the ALP.
Stop family allowances after TWO children per Family.
GDP is failing us.  It must not have to increase every year.

Against the Man says:

09:56am | 29/06/10

Julia was a partner in crime with Kevy ‘The temper man’ Rudd. And she should bear some responsibility and give up trying to pretend to be a leader with capabilities or one that even cares. Gillard has lots to answer for. Labor is finished, finished for a very long time…..............thanks to a pathetic rudd

Darren says:

01:27pm | 29/06/10

hi John - totally agree with the abuse of the word ‘sustainable’ - it is almost as annoying as a bunch of Tories calling themselves ‘liberal’.

stephen says:

03:05pm | 29/06/10

Saw this bloke last night on Lateline, and he’d better smarten up, cause he sounds like Tony Abbott without the verbs.

Timmo says:

04:42pm | 29/06/10

A way to go would be to stop immigration for a generation or two and then have another look at it. We all go through life controlled by symbols such as those on the highways and streets put there to keep us from killing ourselves or others. Symbols such as, Stop, Go and caution, turn right or left with care, all these things we have to do in our day to day lives and we obey them so that we don’t get into danger and as we all know it’s easy to do that. But we ignore the laws of our Nature which are telling us that no more interference can be tolerated by it. Our lives are controlled completely by the people who are out of control. So what can we expect?!!.

To my small knowledge that i have gleaned from reading etc. there seems to be a rather large problem that can occur in Australia as regards the negative impact on our specialized enviroment if mass immigration is allowed here.

Our enviroment at the moment is going under very quickly and has been for many years now, not only bad farming methods but clearing of forests etc. has put all of our unique wildlife under threat.

We have now over 20 million people here and it is insanity for us to try to double that. The Enviroment will not handle it that’s for sure. We know that!!, don’t we.?, or are we just all stupid. Sometimes the latter of that statement is more true of us all. The striving for wealth is ok, but it must be weighed up with the enviromental cost to us all.

We don’t have enough water to sustain a population of such size. This is one of the driest countries in the world. Our rivers and creeks are already poisoned and ruined by over farming and development. Our snakes, goannas, birds and ocean dwellers live already under threat of extinction and it’s getting worse every day. Hundreds of species of animals becoming extinct every week. Our forests becoming non-existent and under Abbott the intention is to develop and dam our north queensland rainforests. A recipe for disaster.

The question is. When is the lunacy going to stop.? People of religion say that when they die they are going to some sort of Paradise or Heaven because they have been very good, but don’t realize that this life we have been given allows us to live in a quality of heaven but unfortunately it also is a purgatory and hell as well, Mass consumerism will eventually destroy this beautiful heaven we call the Earth. Well people, this is all we have, the planet earth, there’s nowhere else to lay our heads. So those who have the job to govern should be listening to the Scientists who know about the subject and take the warnings seriously for a change otherwise it may be goodbye to us all.

Australia is a great and beautiful Continent, let’s not continue to destroy it by over population. Let’s increase gradually with awareness that others, namely our flora and fauna, also have a right to live here in peace and prosperity too. Otherwise it’s goodbye to us. The imbalance in nature that comes out of this stupidity will kill us all out and that’s the truth.

Rose says:

11:19pm | 29/06/10

interestingly Forestry rarely clear fell forests unbeknown to the greater population. They did however make the industry renewable by plantation timbers, employment of many and in addition had decent parks for campers and day visitors alike the most popular of all.  Mount Mee had World Forestry Day.
This is why Fraser was in a fair state for heritage listling of sellective timber taken and regrowth took place.
Seems the off road vehicles, booze week enders will put paid to such a grand list. Add in fences. Oh i could go on but why bother.

Dave says:

12:33am | 30/06/10

Interesting to read a piece about spinning titles from the same party who calls their finance minister ‘the minister for finance and debt reduction’. Nothing like saying you will cancel spending that will only go ahead if the new tax to pay for it is introduced (which you wouldn’t) and then calling that debt reduction.

It’s almost the same as predicting inflated numbers of future potential jobs and claiming that any real reform designed to solve problems of carbon pollution or claim a fair share of non-renewable resources amounts to ‘lost jobs’ as those predicted jobs won’t eventuate. See that friend of the working man Andrew Forrest claiming that the RSPT has put ‘30,000 jobs at risk’ despite the fact that the mining industry as a whole across the whole country employes about 175,000 people. Yes, apparently two single mining projects are going to increase the total sector employment by more than 5%. And people actually believe this. Oh and he couldn’t get financing for those projects even before the tax was announced, but let’s not bother reporting that little revealing fact.

Joseph says:

12:05am | 01/07/10

It doesn’t matter whether the right or left are in power. Both must bend to the will of big business and accept neverending population growth. John Howard, for all his smoke and mirrors tough talk on refugees, increased immigration over 200% of what Keating was running it. Immigration will never significantly slow down.

Different governments will use different wordplay to make it appear that it is, but it won’t. Not in Australia, not in any Western country where the economic model is tied to endless growth.

There are only two ways immigration would slow down, firstly if we became a fully socialist country, secondly if our GDP reduced dramatically.

The vast majority of (non European) immigrants come here for financial reasons. It isn’t the democracy, lifestyle or a specific want to become ‘Australian’. In return our governments and business want them here for (short term)financial reasons, not because a multicultural society is particulary desirable. The multicultural model only became taught as ‘good’ once we embraced neo-liberalism after Whitlam and Fraser.

If immigration ever becomes a financial strain, you can be sure that all those pro-multiculturalism slogans and curricula would change in a heartbeat back to pre-1970s ones extolling homogeneity as strength.

Government policy is about money. Always.