Kelvin Thomson MP: Population Parliamentary Speech 17/08/2009

[TimeForParadigmShift]

A FANTASTIC POLITICIAN. I DO HOPE HE WILL BE ONE OF AUSTRALIA'S FUTURE POLITICAL LEADERS! VOTE 1 KELVIN THOMSON!

[lagosultans]

Great speech Kelvin! You have my 100% support! If Australia is to reach it's emissions target, how can we continue to grow at the rate the Prime Minister is suggesting? I'll still be here in 2050, so will my kids. Mr. Rudd will be in an old age home, or passed away by then.

[Aepsilonm]

A voice of reason. And a pretty courageous one!

Truly, only the swift implementation of a worldwide, ethical, democratic (applicable to each and all!) and scientific system of birth control could defeat this exponentially growing worldwide overpopulation and ensure sustainable development and well-being to all, and stability and peace on this weary planet.

MP Thomson and his Australia are pioneers; the rest of the world shall follow suit.

May reason and wisdom prevail.

Regards.

[Aepsilonm]

A voice of reason. And a pretty courageous one!

Truly, only the swift implementation of a worldwide, ethical, democratic (applicable to each and all!) and scientific system of birth control could defeat this exponentially growing worldwide overpopulation and ensure sustainable development and well-being to all, and stability and peace on this weary planet.

MP Thomson and his Australia are pioneers; the rest of the world shall follow suit.

May reason and wisdom prevail.

Regards.

[nomoresurfingforyou]

Bravo! *claps* I just read your discussion paper from your speech last night (11/11/09). What a relief to hear *someone* from the government finally acknowledge the elephant in the room. On this driest of (inhabited) continents, we can't just keep running our population as an everlasting pyramid scheme. I've stopped taking any notice of people like Krudd yapping on about cutting national greenhouse emissions while completely ignoring the treadmill of unchecked population growth.

[janieooob]

Your speech is an excellent start. Now actions need to be taken. Australia is important, but overpopulated third world countries are more important, otherwise the spill over will be to Oz and other less populated continents. How is this reduction achieved though......China now says it will scrap its one child policy and India is progressing to be a huge consumer of resources as well!

[QueenieAlexander2000]

What a relief. An honest and courageous politician in the Australian parliament. Wouldn't it be wonderful if the rest of the backbenchers, kowtowing to the growth lobby and the front benchers threatened with the back bench if they don't toe the populate and perish line, joined together to support Kelvin and democracy. Look out for the media backlash - they are already talking about population growth inevitability to justify pushing us into a nuclear power economy. that we cannot afford.

[shadowmax351]

Great speech. It is so true and I am so glad to hear a leader in this country open to this opinion. Population control is the only way to maintain our lifestyle and keep Australia great. Good luck with the fight Kelvin. You have my support.

[cjboland]

Great speech. Unfortuately big interest groups such as the real estate lobby, construction lobby, car sale lobby etc etc have more influence than the average voter. Look at the Jan 2006 Productivity Commission report on immigration which concluded their was no net benefit to GDP per person from immigration. If AustralianMatt wants to know how to stop population growth it is simple - stop the immigration program, stop overseas students from getting residence - 300,000/yr.

[aussieladz84]

John Evans

I will vote for you any time but not your party (or the other side), you have show great moral beliefs and a concern for Aust. our people and way of life which is under enormous pressure and for our enviroment.

Tell your leader that the profit model is wrong, he is backing the wrong horse (business) and time is running out for all.

Start the debate, I am ready for it and please, continue your much appreciated efforts in bringing these matters into the public arena. JohnEvans

[IANRUDD]

Kelvin,

The voters of Wills and the rest of Australia should be grateful to you for your willingness to speak out forcibly on arguably the gravest problem the world and Australia has to face.

That you have done so in the face of a leadership in your own party (as well as the opposition) that steadfastly and deliberately avoids dealing with the issue and ducks questions put to them by an increasing number of voters who are alarmed by the government's "growth at all costs" focus is commendable.

[AustralianMatt]

The sentiment is well intended -- but Kelvin Thompson doesn't actually give any policy suggestions for population stabilisation.

What measures of population control would he propose? Family planning or contraception campaigns?

And what evidence does Kelvin have for the assertion that "children who grow up in concrete jungle suburbs are subject to more bullying and harassment and are more vulnerable to traps like crime and drugs"?

[IANRUDD]

Come, come Matt, Kelvin could hardly be expected to address all issues in a short speech to parliament. That he raised the issue in the face of his own parties studious denial of the problem is laudable in itself.

There are no shortages of tried and tested ways of addressing population growth but our governments refuse to debate them.

Some of them are no brainers such as cut immigration and get rid of the baby bonus.

If the speech gets a debate going on the issue that will be a start.

[AustralianMatt]

I'm not asking Kelvin to address everything: his speech is comprehensive.

The issue I have with the speech is that it fails to suggest any "tried and tested ways" of fixing the situation. Each of the 11 world problems Kelvin lists won't simply be solved through halting population growth -- Russia's declining population is creating new problems for that area.

We need to encourage qualitative, not quantitative growth, but growth in and of itself is not the "gravest problem" in the world.

[IANRUDD]

Solutions that work to reduce population growth are well documented and range from China's one child policy to Iran's very successful efforts at providing both the education and the means to its people to keep their families smaller. (If you are interested Google it - also watch talks by Albert Bartlett and Paul Ehrlich.)

Earth is finite and ALL growth in material consumption will have to end sooner or later. Each one of us even a poor Bangladeshi uses some resources.

By qualitative you mean?

[QueenieAlexander2000]

To stop population growth, all that needs to be done is for the Government and the commercial growth lobby to stop ramping up immigration and encouraging a higher birthrate. We also need the alternative media like this to give the public proper info about the consequences of growth. The Murdoch and Fairfax Press, tv and ABC all pretend that it is a good thing. Our population would adjust to limits as all populations do when left to the own devices and allowed access to real information.

[VivienneKay]

Kelvin Thompson MP is brave and is it strange that the elephant in the room is invisible for most people! Are we so alienated from Nature, the environment, the source of our livelihoods? Nothing can be achieved, no problem solved, by adding more people! Is our evolution so devoid of being able to see beyond the herd? Greed for profits and land developers has blinded us and our government.