Population - an insidious problem

April 5, 2024

Michael Keatings perfunctory dismissal of population growth not having any bearing on housing is incorrect. Overpopulation is an insidious problem, its the main driver of war, climate change, famine, homelessness, &c. The global population of over 8 billion people is consuming more than 1.8 times the resources of the planet.

While the Australian landmass may seem vast to many, the resource that constrains population growth among others is water. Despite Australias wet summer, Australians are using more water than can be replenished as ground water supplies slowly diminish.

The transition to a fully renewable energy regime will take 20 odd years if coordinated properly, it isnt. Many of the same resources which are already constrained plus a few more, will continue to be constrained. We need to transition away from business as usual and learn that for our species to continue we need to decrease our number on the planet, not increase them.

The answer to Australias housing crisis is multifaceted and requires urgent government reforms, government needs to show some leadership. We need to revise our system of taxation, review our housing and immigration policies, institute a population policy, move to renewables ASAP and upgrade our housing construction code.