With all the floods and disasters Queensland’s racehorse population growth that has gone on unabated for decades has finally slowed down.
It hasn’t stopped growing. It is just that the rate of growth has finally slowed down a bit. That is a bit like driving at 80 kmp for ages then slowing down to 60 kmp. Or a more accurate analogy it is like accelerating for ages then slowing down the rate you are accelerating. Your speed increases fast then your speed continues to increase but less rapidly.
On the radio this morning (not this station) I heard the announcer bemoaning the slow down in Queensland’s population growth rate. He described it as a bad thing to slow down the population growth rate.
Why? Why do some individuals and corporations and members of the government talk up population growth?
What do you think? Can you think of reasons why we might want to have population increasing in QLD? Here are three possible reasons:
[ul]Population increases stimulate the building industry and that means jobs for people in the construction industry tradies and spin-offs to other businesses when the money flows on through the system. Bunnings loves it!
People coming here bring money and businesses. Even if they are unemployed or retired they bring an entitlement to Federal benefits!
And a third reason is that the employers want a pool of people so they can pick and choose and so there is some downward pressure on wages.[/ul]
You might be able to think of some more reasons why population growth in SE QLD could be called a good thing.
How about on the other side of the coin? What reasons can you think of why population growth in SE QLD might be a problem for us?
Well with a little bit of thinking here are some ideas:
[ul]We have a finite water supply.
Our energy supply also has limits and the more energy we use the higher the price goes.
Do indigenous people say they are better off because the population has grown with a big influx of immigrants?
New buildings gobble up more and more land.
More people don’t just raise demand for homes. They also increase the pressure on roads hospitals schools waste disposal policing parking holiday parks beaches and everything else
More demand for a finite supply drives up prices that we pay and our children have to pay
Systems that worked well with one level of population break down with a much higher level of population. There is no stability and resilient systems are destroyed with the swipe of a council approval to bulldoze more farms and forests for houses.
Rather than paying to skill our own young people we end up bringing in skilled migrants to fill the top jobs
Sure the big projects happen but most of the profits get exported overseas because they are nearly all foreign owned
Life gets more and more competitive and crowded.
Cultural groups are in an evolutionary competition for survival of the fittest and being comfortable in who you are doesn’t stand a chance. The new kids on the block are being very pushy to stand up for their rights and their cultural values.
[/ul]
Let’s have a think about population growth using the analogy of your own home.
Think about your own property. Think about the building the house the rooms. Think about the yard the piece of land it is on. Now think about how you could make some money by sharing it with more people.
First of all let’s imagine you decide to let a spare room to a student. They’re pretty heavy on their use of the shower and quite messy but you all work it out.
Now let’s add some more people. Say you can subdivide the block into two blocks both half the size with an access path down the side of your house. You sell the back block after filling in the swimming pool and removing some trees. Quite soon there is a new building taking up most of the view from your kitchen window and the new neighbours are nice enough but they’re pretty noisy and close.
Let’s keep adding more people. Remember the pressure to add more people is relentless. With some of the money you have got from the block subdivision you decide to renovate your downstairs rumpus area and you let it out to a couple. You are now sharing your home with 3 people. In the meantime your rates have gone up and you have to declare the income to the Tax Office. If you were on a pension you’ve probably now lost it. The couple downstairs turn out to be quite demanding. She complains about things and he is quite a bully. They want work done on maintaining the backyard to a higher standard.
Let’s add some more people. You downsize your other spare room which you have been using as an office study and let it to a refugee. They have interesting exotic recipes. The pressure on the kitchen and upstairs toilet is now extreme. Everyone is trying to get in there at once. No-one seems interested in washing up. The stove is filthy. Whose job is it to empty the rubbish bin. The system of separating recyclables worm food and compost has broken down completely.
The pressure to make more money and add more people keeps coming. You decide to draw up a completely different form of contract that allows anyone to come and live there if they can find a spot they reckon they can fit into and they pay to stay there. It is one big commune upstairs. People are sleeping in corners on couches under tables in hallways. One innovative character has found a way to build a mezzanine in the lounge and has made his own little empire there. Territorial disputes are common. The toilet is a disaster zone and so is the bathroom. Theft is common. It is very hard to keep track of who has paid to stay there the night and who is a blow-in free-loader.
The pressure to add more people continues. You hire a portaloo and set it up in the drive-way. People are now camping in every spare inch of space all over the front lawn and back lawn.
The ceiling space is up for renovation. There is enough money to instal a cute little loft window.
Is this better? Is it even financially better?
We need to ask ourselves these things.
Only 150 years ago America had its civil war and its population was 18 million. That is less than Australia’s population today. Now America’s population is 312 million.
Population growth is relentless until it crashes.