SPPA

Sustainable Population Party is pleased to endorse a truly local candidate for the 2015 Canning, West Australia, by-election - Angela Smith. Angela is an environmental scientist and resident of Canning, with links to the region going back 30 years.

Angela Smith - Environmental scientist, Carer, Mature-age student

From Angela:

I was born on a farm and grew up in the country. As a child migrant, I understand and appreciate the significant contribution that migration has made to Australia.

I have over thirty years of work/life experience in science and environment, health and social welfare, mining, primary production, stay-at-home caring and most recently, further study as a mature age arts/law student at Murdoch University. I also volunteer at the Mandurah Community Museum.

In my ’spare time’ I enjoy singing (amateur choir), cycling, dog walking and canoeing (the Peel Harvey Estuary and rivers), and bushwalking in Jarrah woodlands on the Darling Scarp. I'm a member of Mensa, Exit, Animals Australia, Australian Society of Authors, Copyright Agency and the Royal WA Historical Society – I am also a recent past member of National Seniors, WA Council on the Ageing and the Alzheimer’s Association.

I have a passion for sustainability, social justice (notably regarding age discrimination, sexism, racism and homophobia), animal rights and human rights. I believe in a sustainable environment for all people, plants and animals - not just the chosen few. I am a strong advocate for the increasing number of vulnerable and downtrodden.

I believe that all Australians (including mature-aged) should be supported with education and training to fill skills shortages - rather than the government and business prioritising skills through high immigration. We have the labour and talent in this country and, especially given our increasingly longer living population, it is not sustainable to continue to waste it.

I also believe the major parties are too closely aligned to vested interests (including the big end of town and big unions) and should get back to their core business of essential services for the public interest i.e. health, education, justice and infrastructure.

In recent decades our politicians have let slide Australia’s once proud ‘fair go for all’. And, while some are unquestionably better off, may more are falling through the cracks. Egalitarianism is a central objective of the Sustainable Population Party's core values.

There are a number of key issues I will be campaigning on for the people of Canning, including:

• Education
• Paid jobs
• Infrastructure
• Health care
• Renewable energy
• Housing affordability

All of these key issues and many more are addressed in our policies page.

Unlike many politicians, the late Don Randall actually listened to his constituents. I was in communication with Don - about infrastructure problems in Canning (including the NBN access and telephone reception) and worker exploitation - when he sadly passed away.

Like Don, I'd like to communicate with as many residents of Canning as possible. So, please contact me with your questions and any feedback.

We need to redefine 'growth' to secure a better, not bigger Canning.

So don't forget... Vote SUSTAINABLE

With thanks and regards,

Mark O'Connor is running for the federal Australian Senate as a candidate of the Stable Population Party Australia (SPPA).

Photo source was Canberra Times, by Rohan Thomson

Mark O'Connor is running for the federal Australian Senate as a candidate of the Stable Population Party Australia (SPPA).

Mark O'Connor is well-known to candobetter.net and he is the co-author of Overloading Australia and a fierce and long-term advocate for keeping Australia's population small. He lives in Canberra, in a suburb by the same surname, and grows fruit trees from cuttings. Lately he has been specialising in fejoas. He is also an expert in tropical fish. Most of all, of course, he is an environmental poet, known for a slew of books of poetry and pronounced Australia's Olympic Poet by Bob Carr for the Year 2000 Olympics in Sydney Australia.

My favorite poem by him is this one, about God and a coral sea-garden, which has a rich scientific base:

The Beginning

God himself
having that day planted a garden
walked through it at evening and knew
that Eden was not nearly complex enough.
And he said:
"Let species swarm like solutes in a colloid.
Let there be ten thousand species of plankton
and to eat them a thousand zooplankton.
Let there be ten phyla of siphoning animals,
one phylum of finned vertebrates, from
white-tipped reef shark to long-beaked coralfish,
and to each his proper niche,
and — no Raphael, I'm not quite finished yet —
you can add seals and sea-turtles & cone-shells & penguins
(if they care) and all the good seabirds your team can devise —
oh yes, and I nearly forgot it, I want a special place
for the crabs! And now for parasites to keep
the whole system in balance, let . . ."

". . . In conclusion, I want," he said
"ten thousand mixed chains of predation —
none of your simple rabbit and coyote stuff!
This ocean shall have many mouths, many palates,
many means of ingestion. I want
a hundred ways of death, three thousand regenerations —
all in technicolor naturally. And oh yes, I nearly forgot,
we can use Eden again for the small coral cay in the center.

"So now Raphael, if you please,
just draw out and marshall these species,
and we'll plant them all out in a twelve-hectare patch."

So for five and a half days God labored
and on the seventh he donned mask and snorkel
and a pair of bright yellow flippers.

And, later, the host all peered wistfully down
through the high safety fence around Heaven
and saw God with his favorites finning slowly over the coral
in the eternal shape of a grey nurse shark,
and they saw that it was very good indeed.

You can read more about Mark on his home page.

Stable Population Party Australia has finalised its core values and posted them to their website. In 2012 they say that they will be calling for new policy suggestions that align with these party values. Take a look...

Philosophy, Objectives & Core Values

(Click here to go to the SPPA site.)
Australia has a rich tradition in migration and choice regarding family size. Long may this continue.

The Stable Population Party is made up of Australians from all backgrounds who support an ongoing, balanced and flexible migration program. We also reject government interference in decisions regarding family size, including offering irresponsible 'bonus' cash incentives for children. Responsible population policies are urgently required for Australia, in order to avoid draconian policies in the future.

Stabilising as soon as practicably possible will deliver us an optimum population target of around 23-26 million through to 2050. Australia's fertility rate, currently around two children per woman, and average life expectancy would largely determine the exact number. Population growth in Australia is a big problem but it is easy to solve, if our politicians have the courage.

Philosophy

The Stable Population Party is committed to a stable, sustainable, open and tolerant Australia.

Objectives

The key objectives of the Stable Population Party are as follows:

To stabilise Australia's population as soon as practicably possible, aiming for a population of around 23-26 million through to 2050; and
To provide leadership and support to other countries experiencing rapid population growth, so as to help them stabilise their populations, and thus help stabilise global population.

Core Values

To enhance the prosperity of all Australians, our children and grandchildren, and create a better quality of life for all, the Stable Population Party upholds the following core values:

1. Sustainable living

Australia should progress economically and socially using resources in ecologically sustainable ways to protect the environment and the natural world. The aim is wellbeing for all Australians, present and future, and to preserve the biodiversity of our ecosystems, with enough space and resources to live well and in balance with each other. A sustainable Australia starts with a stable population.

2. Egalitarian democracy

All individuals should have equal opportunity to take part in the democratic process. We are committed to honest administration that prioritises the public interest and does not pander to vested interests. Public policy should be based on objective evidence-based advice in light of wider social, economic, environmental, national security and cultural concerns. Importantly, we Australians must be allowed to democratically choose our own population size, mindful of our finite resource base and likely future global challenges.

3. Fiscal responsibility

Public finances and resources should be properly managed and accounted for, so as to ensure Australia lives within its means, without indebting our children and grandchildren or running down our environments. This includes properly accounting for the costs of population growth, like infrastructure, the depletion of our mineral and energy wealth and the growing impacts of our waste.

4. Global citizenship

Through partnership, example and assistance, Australia should help other nations to live well and plan their own future within their sustainable resource base. While welcoming our fair share of genuine refugees, we should acknowledge that overpopulation drives the resource scarcity behind most current conflicts and forced migration. By stabilising their populations through voluntary family planning and empowerment of women, nations protect their food security, improve infant and maternal health, maximise resilience to climate change, free up investment to build prosperity and avoid labour exploitation. All people should be able to live in peace and harmony in their homeland.

5. Productive innovation

We encourage innovation and sustainable development. In economic, environmental, social and cultural fields we advocate renewed investment in research, training and higher education. The aim is to support a skilled, productive and creative nation, allowing Australians to fulfil their potential.