Frightening implications
Peter Boyle's arguments in his article on the Urban Crisis (May 27) that the problems facing our cities in the future are fundamentally social and could be solved soley through proper planning and social reconstruction, ignore the frightening long term implications of Australia's unprecedented population growth. Australia is the fastest growing among OECD countries; Queensland's population growth of over 3% per annum is six times the OECD average and is similar to that of poverty stricken countries such as Bangladesh and Ethiopia.
Contrary to Boyle's claim that the mainstream press are anti-immigration, enormous pressure is placed on our politicians by vested interest groups such as land developers, big business (including the newspaper barons) and a strong and influential ethnic lobby to continue immigration for their own immediate and short term benefit.
The NPC from whose final report Boyle quotes, was composed overwhelmingly (six to one) of people with pro-immigration backgrounds, and its findings should be viewed with this in mind.
Boyle's seeming belief that we can and should accommodate an ever increasing and unspecified number of people ad infinitum is perplexing; he appears to confuse social justice and reform with population growth, but the massive economic, urban, infrastructure, environmental and social costs and restraints needed to accommodate a population in excess of 25 million by 2030 will hardly help the cause of social justice, rather, it will create a level of foreign debt and fall in living standards from which this country will never recover.
To continue to overpopulate this country is also to continue our total disregard of the Aborigines, their culture, knowledge, well being, and above all, love of their land!
A major breakthrough has recently been achieved by Australian scientists in the realisation that Aboriginal beliefs and customs stem from an immense knowledge and understanding of this ancient and fragile land, and as a result, scientists and Aborigines are now collaborating on a number of environmental issues.
Pivotal to the Aborigines' survival for millennia before the advent of white settlers, was their adherence to the principles of population restraint. Were we to emulate their example of maintaining population at a 20-30% carrying capacity, our long term aim would be for a population of around eight million.
David Suzuki was recently quoted in GLW as saying it is time we listened to indigenous people. It is also time for serious environmentalists to acknowledge that population poses the greatest threat to future generations and mankind's survival.
Diana Evans
Balwyn Vic
Somalia
Those who fail to see that population increase is a disaster for humanity should take a look at Somalia and much of Africa.
The food shortages in Somalia and many other countries are a direct result of population size exceeding the long-term capabilities of the life-support systems, often aggravated by drought and social disorder.
There is a direct link between trade and population growth. Revenues from the sale of some good that one country has an apparent excess of enable the purchase of some item or items that would otherwise be a constraint on population growth.
Australia's infatuation with increased exports and participation in the global market, despite the obvious detriment to our domestic economy, plays its part in increasing the world's population.
A case in point is the McArthur River silver-lead-zinc deposit. All of the output from this mine will be placed on the export market. In other words, it is an entirely unnecessary project from the point of view of Australia's needs as we already have a surfeit of these goods.
The concept that this project should be supported once Mount Isa Mines have produced an "acceptable" environmental impact statement represents the view of some in the environmental movement who fail to grasp the global effects of local events.
The more trade, national or international, the greater the stimulus to population growth and the more rapid the spread of social collapse.
C.M. Friel
Alawa NT
Slur of racism
Two hundred years of European settlement has seen this ancient and fragile land raped and pillaged, its aboriginal inhabitants decimated. Australia now is one of the most ruthlessly cleared countries, with 50% of its topsoil lost and its once beautiful waterways reduced to polluted drains. In agricultural terms, our croppable land (a mere 10% of total land area) is the same as that of two American states, Iowa and Illinois, which have a combined total of 14.5 million.
Australia's population of already 17 million live predominantly in the larger cities which are becoming increasingly congested and polluted and whose water supplies are rapidly diminishing. Additionally, health, education and transport systems are deteriorating, there are one million unemployed and one million totally or functionally illiterate. In Australian or in other developed countries, people-pressure and competitiveness impacts upon homelessness, poverty and crime.
However, the GLW in its editorial of July 22nd, sees fit to denounce any suggestion that this country has enough people, as racist? Democrat leader Senator Coulter? Prof. Adrienne Clarke, Chair of CSIRO? Justice Einfeld, human rights activist? or maybe Australia's most famous biologist, the late Sir Macfarlane Burnet?
Over the last 20 years an increasing number of eminent Australians, academics and scientists, have begun to question the sustainability of Australia's explosive population growth. In January 1992 Keating attempted to resurrect the divisive and despicable slur of racism in the immigration debate and was howled down, even by the mainstream press (which is largely pro-immigration for vested interest reasons, despite GLW assertions to the contrary).
That the GLW has resorted to this discredited ploy is disappointing; moreover, its pro-immigration stance must lead one to seriously question its sincerity in championing the cause of Aborigines, the environment and social justice in this country.
That we must accommodate genuine refugees is indisputable, however, pirating skilled workers from third world countries is hardly helpful to those countries, nor is taking a proportionately minute number of unskilled people at an estimated cost of $100,000 per family. This money could more beneficially be spent on health, population and environmental programs in the countries concerned.
The GLW should join responsible and concerned Australians in calling on this government to substantially reduce immigration (and military spending) and in denouncing Australia's overseas aid program which is shamefully inadequate and wrongly motivated by commercial and strategic considerations. The vast associated funds — $8-9 billion — should be redirected towards such matters as our national debt, Aborigines, unemployment, and the appalling inequities in third world countries.
Di Tod
Figtree Pocket Old
[The editorial to which the writer refers dealt with the federal government's treatment of Cambodian and Chinese boat people. — Ed.]
Thoughtless tactics
The visit of current Australian Foreign Minister, Gareth Evans, to Melbourne University as part of "Cambodia Week" (3-7th August), was disrupted and eventually cancelled due to a student protest. While some might consider this a little "victory", we have some concerns at the tactics of some of the protesters.
Gareth Evans and the Australian government have a disgusting record regarding human rights and social justice issues in the South East Asian region and around the world. The Australian government has played a crucial role in the international arena in supporting the unjust dictatorship of President Suharto of Indonesia. It has lent political support to Indonesia and also provided military aid in return for Timor Gap oil profits. The massacre in Dili last November was just one example of the atrocious human rights abuses within Indonesia and its occupied territories that this aid helps perpetuate.
Evans is also implicated in the deaths of thousands of ying military aid to the Papua New Guinean government in its blockade and repression of Bouganvilleans struggling for independence and the right to control their own environment.
Considering the gross violations of justice and democracy in which Gareth Evans has played a part, a strong protest was in order. But we are concerned at the thoughtless tactics of a minority of students which led to a scuffle with security guards in which a number of students were injured and the abandonment of the meeting. They may have enjoyed playing "militant" but their action not only served to alienate a large number of students, it blocked any chance to expose his hypocrisy by arguing through the issues involved. The meeting, organised by Community Aid Abroad, had allowed for extensive discussion time which was lost, along with the possibility of broadening the base of support of existing solidarity and political campaigns.
Marina Carman
Alex Bainbridge
Anthony Thirlwall
Melbourne University Resistance Club