SPA response to Andrew Bolt on unsustainable pop growth

People who normally disapprove of Andrew Bolt, the often vitriolic right-wing columnist in Australia's Herald Sun, were today at a loss with unfamiliar feelings of agreement. In "Door squeaks as PM Peaks", (Herald Sun 8.10.08), Bolt lambasted the Labor government for its stupidity in ramping up immigration rates here, stating that Australia will be bringing in from overseas the equivalent of a city the size of Adelaide over a period of 3 years. Today, (October 8, 2008), Jill Quirk, President of Sustainable Population Australia, Victorian Branch, (often regarded as a leftist organisation) responded positively to Andrew Bolt's article, commenting that, "In the same 3 years there will also be a natural increase in the population of nearly 400,000." "This massive increase in population will place pressure on our already stressed environment, water resources and infrastructure. Australians suffer from the anxiety of insufficient water resources and consequent water restrictions as well as the knowledge that parts of our environment, particularly the lower lakes of South Australia, may soon permanently fall victim to lack of water, " she said. She added, "Australia has been listed as losing more mammals to extinction than any other country and this is attributed to loss of animal habitat for human use." "The proposed large increase in our population over the next 3 years with no end in sight bodes extremely badly for our remaining small mammals and human quality of life." Importantly she commented on the impact on government and democracy of population overgrowth: "Given that the impacts of population growth are fiercely resisted within the community, the insistence by the Australian government on pursuing its population growth agenda is an affront to democracy." Contact for further information, Jill Quirk, President, Sustainable Population Australia- Victorian branch, 0409742927