overdevelopment

Melbourne Public Lecture - "How fast are we growing?" - low-down on stats by independent expert

How fast is Australia’s population really growing? How much of this growth is due to immigration? Have trends really changed dramatically? Did we need a baby bonus?

Do government and the media give the true picture in a state where the impacts of growth are becoming overwhelming— traffic-choked roads, water restrictions, anxiety about future water supply, pressure on land for housing, unaffordability, constant massive infrastructure projects and increasing need to protect wildlife from rapid growth and development....... ?

Speaker: 3pm – 4pm, Sat 10 May, Melbourne:

Dr Katharine Betts, Australian Population Sociologist, Associate Professor in Sociology at Swinburne University, Editor of Monash University demographic quarterly, People and Place, and Author of Immigration Ideology and The Great Divide.

This session will look at Statistics and Politics:
Statistics: Changes in collection and definition of Australian immigration statistics over the past 10 years.
Reliable estimates of the numbers from 1998-2008 (Migration and total population change)
Politics: Interpreting recent trends in Australian Political population policy and how policy intersects with real immigration numbers.

Dr Katharine Betts is Australia’s leading expert in different ways of measuring and presenting immigration statistics. An experienced teacher, she will explain Australian population statistics and show trends over the long and short term.

Discussion: 4PM – 5PM

Venue and Date

After the SPA Victorian branch AGM (AGM: 2pm-3pm, talk and discussion: 3pm-5pm)
North Melbourne Library (upstairs)
66 Errol St. North Melbourne (Melway ref: 2A J10)

Contact: Jill Quirk, President, SPA Victoria (03) 95097429
jillq[AT]optusnet.com.au

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Who should pay for repairs of damaged residential canals?

This letter was published in the Sunshine Coast Daily of Wednesday 7 May 08.

Canals should be fixed by owners

There's a new council in town and promises made by Maroochy to its millionaire landowners need not necessarily apply now.

These people along the canals bought land that had been cleared from an old swamp. Their land and the mosquito pond in front of them is the lowest point on the landscape.

It was designed by nature to capture the silt and run-off from higher up the river system so that the offshore marine habitats are protected. It's still working fine, even after all of the alterations.

The land and its mosquito ponds have appreciated in value remarkably.

Anyone living on those canals can be rightly be called millionaires. Why should the rest of the Coast have to dip into their pockets to help them out?

The canals aren't public property and until the millionaires open up access through their land, similar to the British rambling laws, then they should be responsible for the upkeep.

If they think the developer of the projects on the Esplanade is to blame, sue, and if they win, use the money to fix the problem.

No one forced you to buy on a cleared swamp. Take responsibility for your own actions. Don't expect the rest of us to bail you out.

Gold Coast's new Council urged to reconsider growth targets

Media Release Tuesday, 29 April 2008

A Gold Coast planning seminar on Sunday resulted in a unanimous call for Gold Coast’s new Council to pull back on plans to accommodate an additional 150,000 homes over the next 20 years and to consider and protect the city’s values before signing off on a new population growth target.

The seminar, addressed by solicitor Larissa Waters from the Environmental Defenders Office and hosted by Gecko – Gold Coast & Hinterland Environment Council, was designed to empower community members to lobby for changes to the Local Growth Management Strategy (LGMS).

Ms Waters said that this figure of 150,000 almost doubles the existing accommodation of the Gold Coast and will add another 250,000 residents. “That’s over a quarter of all the growth forecast for the whole of South East Queensland being imposed on the Gold Coast alone,” said Ms Waters. “As an area of extremely high nature conservation value and narrow floodplains, it is difficult to see where this growth is going to go.”

“75,000 of these homes will be infill of already developed areas,” said Lois Levy, spokesperson for Gecko. “Unfortunately our councillors have not looked to see whether this is sustainable, safe or desirable, so we’re asking now that they urgently consider the implications of further development before they sign off on this Strategy.”

“Plans to put the other 75,000 homes in undeveloped areas will see the continued destruction of the highly valuable bushland that is left within the urban footprint,” said Ms Levy. “With no protection for bushland outside the urban footprint we stand to lose much bushland that provides our life support services and sustains the extremely high biodiversity of our city.”

Residents will convey their concerns to their councillors in the coming weeks urging them to reconsider the additional number of dwellings for the city in light of the following constraints:

  • Climate change impacts including risk of storm surges, bushfires, cyclones, and sea level rise;
  • Concern about extreme levels of density around transport nodes (between 30-80 dwellings per hectare), impact on quality of life – becoming the slums of the future;
  • That infrastructure plans are unrealistic and cannot keep up with this level of growth;
  • That development of infrastructure projects, such as roads, trains, dams, desalination plants, pipelines and power lines, will adversely impact upon natural areas, both urban and rural;
  • That currently the LGMS does not protect or enhance biodiversity or open space.

“We need policies to better deal with climate change, protect greenspace inside and outside the urban footprint, and reduce population to the carrying capacity of the region,” said Ms Levy.

For further information about this important issue, please contact the following at Gecko on 5534-1412 or directly: Lois Levy 5534-3706 or 0412-724-222 or Sheila Davis 5530-6600 or 0423-305-478

Gecko - Gold Coast and Hinterland Environment Council, 139 Duringan Street, Currumbin Qld 4223 Phone: (07) 5534 1412 Fax: (07) 5534 1401 E-mail: info |AT| gecko.org.au

Developers should not be rewarded for donations scandal

"Developers donated millions of dollars to the Labor Party’s election campaign. They employed a Labor Party insider to head one of their main lobby groups." "Since being elected Labor has pushed ahead with proposals for the biggest re-write of planning laws since the 1970s with the stated aim of making it quicker and easier for developers to get their projects approved." "Labor did not disclose to the public that it intended to change the planning laws but does anyone doubt that this was being discussed at those Labor fundraising dinners to which the developers turned out in force," said Ms Hale. "The public are now deeply suspicious of just what the developers were expecting in return for their political donations, yet the developers continue to lobby for the government to push ahead with planning laws changes that cut the community out of planning decisions." "The developers" suggestion of so-called independent panels is exposed by what has happened at Ku-ring-gai where planning powers were taken from the Council and handed over to a panel and the Minister appointed a former development industry lobbyist as chairperson. The panel subsequently recommended a big increase in the areas to be zoned for development." "Planning panels are not independent when they are made up of people who work in and for the development and construction industry." "There is greater accountability when planning decisions rest with elected Councils rather than appointed panels," said Ms Hale. For more information: Chris Holley 02 9230 3030, 0437 779 546 Originally from

Labor dodging election backlash with Wollongong Council sacking

Election Should Be Called For Wollongong Council

The Iemma government should announce an election for a new Wollongong council rather than appoint a long-term Administrator to run the Council’s affairs.

"The appointment of an Administrator would deny the people of Wollongong the opportunity to pronounce their judgement on how the Labor Party has behaved in Wollongong," said NSW Greens MP Sylvia Hale.

"There is widespread community anger in Wollongong about the behaviour of Labor’s councillors and their developer mates. The Iemma government has not earned the right to expect the people of Wollongong to trust it to appoint a long term Administrator."

"Elections for a new Wollongong Council were scheduled for September. That election should be brought forward and take place as soon as possible."

"Failing that, elections for a new Wollongong Council should take place as part of the state wide local government elections scheduled for September this year,” Ms Hale said.

NSW Greens MP, Lee Rhiannon has renewed her call for a Royal Commission into the relationship between developers and political parties.

"The public’s suspicion of corrupt relations between developers and politicians extends beyond Wollongong Council and into the state government."

"It is time for a Royal Commission to question under oath the developers, the Councillors, the Ministers and the party officials," said Ms Rhiannon.

"The Commission could then determine what undertakings were given to the developers when Labor Party officials solicited their donations and whether the donations influenced the Ministers’ decisions."

"With revelations about the use of stand-over tactics many potential witnesses in Wollongong are understandably reluctant to come forward, especially with Police Minister David Campbell being a former Mayor of Wollongong and the recipient of donations from some of those named at the ICAC inquiry. There is a need for witness protection for those with evidence of corrupt activities."

"The ICAC inquiry into Wollongong is too limited to properly investigate and expose the relationships between developers and politicians that have undermined public faith in the political process in NSW," said Ms Rhiannon.

For more information: Lee Rhiannon - 0427 861 568, 9230 3551. Sylvia Hale 02 9230 3030 / 0437 779 546

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