petrol costs

Here is yet another example of why big business and governments want more population growth - they can always milk it for money while you and I pay for it. With the right press, this can even appear helpful, although it's really just the opposite. "To reduce congestion, imagine the government charged by the kilometre," says David Hensher of the University of Sydney. "The hip pocket must be where road pricing reform commences. The call for a congestion charge is getting louder and more frequent in many countries, as major metropolitan areas experience increasing levels…" Growth doesn't pay for itself - you do.

Roads to hell paved with bad ideas presented as good intentions

"To reduce congestion, imagine the government charged by the kilometre," says David Hensher of the University of Sydney. "The hip pocket must be where road pricing reform commences. The call for a congestion charge is getting louder and more frequent in many countries, as major metropolitan areas experience increasing levels…"

Mark O'Connor writes that this strikes him as a an ingenious idea that might make good financial sense, but not much sense in other ways.

Why can't Australia have stable cities like other people?

It's still a way of palliating (for a time) rather than solving the underlying problem. Why can't we have stable cities, like Europe does, rather than ones that are forever outgrowing their roads? and their parks, sewers, power and water infrastructures, water supplies,and perhaps even in time their food supplies? Why is Australia growing at more than three times the average for advanced countries, paying baby bonuses to encourage more births, and pushing up immigration again despite Gillard's promise to get us off the Big Australia path?

There seems to be no limit to the deterioration in our quality of life that our leaders, and some planners will propose, sooner than concede there must be limits to population growth.

Here are some of the things we are regularly asked to give up

Urban green space

Houses with gardens

Affordable houses

The right to drink water that has not come from a sewer

Koalas

Abundant and varied birdlife

Land on which to run a pet

Land on which to have a clothes line

Affordable meat.

Roads without traffic jams

The last three city plans...

The chance for Australian school leavers to be trained and to find jobs

Resource security

A city that would not have to be quickly surrendered in war if its main highways for food-trucks were cut by missile strike. (e.g. Sydney)

Power-security

Freedom from the risks of nuclear power.

Continuing public ownership of profitable utilities and public lands

And now it seems we must add:

Freedom to drive without a mileage toll.