Sustainable Population Australia
Encyclopedia
Sustainable Population Australia (SPA) (formerly Australians for an Ecologically Sustainable Population) is an Australia
n special advocacy group
, founded in Canberra in 1988, which seeks to establish an "ecologically sustainable
" human population
. SPA claims that it is an "ecological group dedicated to preserving species' habitats globally and in Australia from the degradation caused by human population growth
", and that it "works on many fronts to encourage informed public debate about how Australia and the world can achieve an ecologically sustainable population".
SPA argues that population growth exacerbates Australia's water shortage and adds to greenhouse gas emissions.
SPA also seeks to highlight what it claims are the negative economic effects of population growth, such as increased housing costs, lower wages and living standards, and opposes the current historically high level of immigration to Australia
.
SPA also opposes plans by the government to increase population growth with the Baby Bonus
, a payout to parents who have children.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n special advocacy group
Advocacy group
Advocacy groups use various forms of advocacy to influence public opinion and/or policy; they have played and continue to play an important part in the development of political and social systems...
, founded in Canberra in 1988, which seeks to establish an "ecologically sustainable
Sustainability
Sustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...
" human population
World population
The world population is the total number of living humans on the planet Earth. As of today, it is estimated to be billion by the United States Census Bureau...
. SPA claims that it is an "ecological group dedicated to preserving species' habitats globally and in Australia from the degradation caused by human population growth
Population growth
Population growth is the change in a population over time, and can be quantified as the change in the number of individuals of any species in a population using "per unit time" for measurement....
", and that it "works on many fronts to encourage informed public debate about how Australia and the world can achieve an ecologically sustainable population".
SPA argues that population growth exacerbates Australia's water shortage and adds to greenhouse gas emissions.
SPA also seeks to highlight what it claims are the negative economic effects of population growth, such as increased housing costs, lower wages and living standards, and opposes the current historically high level of immigration to Australia
Immigration to Australia
Immigration to Australia is estimated to have begun around 51,000 years ago when the ancestors of Australian Aborigines arrived on the continent via the islands of the Malay Archipelago and New Guinea. Europeans first landed in the 17th and 18th Centuries, but colonisation only started in 1788. The...
.
SPA also opposes plans by the government to increase population growth with the Baby Bonus
Baby Bonus
The Baby Bonus is a government payment to parents of a newborn baby or adopted child to assist with the costs of childrearing.- Australia :The government of Andrew Fisher introduced a baby bonus of £5 per child in late 1912. The bonus was available irrespective of marital status and could also be...
, a payout to parents who have children.