Labor MP details flaws in Burke's population strategy

As far as I know, SPA still promotes zero net immigration as an ideal, pointing out that this still allows quite large numbers to exit and enter, for, if 100,000 people leave the country permanently, zero net would mean that 100,000 could come in with the intention of staying permanently.

I don't think that it has ever 'attacked' refugees. It has suggested that Australia's intake of refugees could be increased and the other sources of immigration - family, skills, business - could be vastly reduced - and still come out at zero net.

Immigration averaged out from around the 1960s (to my recollection) came to 80,000 or so net until the huge jumps caused by the Howard government's policies. Labor was always trying to push the numbers up too. So, 70,000 net would be a reduction on that earlier high average.

Kelvin Thomson's suggested 70,000 would also be a huge reduction on the organised invasion of business, skills, students and family reunion immigrants that the government is currently conducting against its own people, which it leaves with poor education, lousy job opportunities, no homes, and a social security system that makes poor people use up their limited savings and sell off their homes.

70,000 allows the population to grow some more to about 26m as I recollect, which is, I agree, too much. For safety's sake we should stop growth as soon as possible, since we have already overshot our resources and the inertia of embodied population growth will carry our numbers up anyway. There is, however, a rational basis for the 70,000 number which entails reaching and staying at 26,000,000, whether you agree with them or not. I cite them from Kelvin Thomson's 14 point plan for population reform at this source: "Kelvin Thomson unveils population reform plan at Royal Park Protection Group AGM"

"To bring the train back under control we need to return to a net overseas migration number more in keeping with previous practice. Net overseas migration in 2007-08 was 213,461. I believe this should be reduced to 70,000. If we cut net overseas migration to 70,000, and the fertility rate was maintained at 1.8, according to Professor Bob Birrell, of Monash University’s Centre for Urban and Social Research, the population would reach 26 million by the year 2050 and stabilize at about this level for the rest of the century.
The age profile of the population would also remain relatively constant."

Kelvin Thomson does really seem to be a hero though, because, if you compare his party's policies, which are abjectly compliant with the wishes of a corrupt land-development and banking sector that is driving up the cost of living and doing business in this country beyond what the average person can bear, then he is showing immense bravery and a respect for democracy, human kind, nature and science which appears to be absent among the rest of Labor and Liberal and the Greens politicians.

You surely would admit that Julia Gillard would do far better to throw out Tony Burke's shameful effort on a sustainable population strategy and switch Australia onto Kelvin's 14 point policy?

I hope that someone from SPA will answer your comment as well as me.