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Sunday February 12, 2012

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  • Pauline on Help Hinch fight DHS 'pinheads' DHS have destroyed my own family. They failed in their duty of care to provide a baby moniter for the deaf , thousands of ... more
  • Christine on Help Hinch fight DHS 'pinheads' isn't it funny how DHS don't recognise the psychological effects of domestic violence on children and continue to allow ... more
  • Warrior princess on Help Hinch fight DHS 'pinheads' There is a family In the Cairns Area who are Foster Carers.Atherton Child Safety have threatened the carers and own ... more
  • duncan on Help Hinch fight DHS 'pinheads' i have spent time with this family. it is a house full of love. "mum", grandfather and older sblings.this cannot be an issue ... more
  • Tracey on Help Hinch fight DHS 'pinheads' Family Law is different from the rest of the law in this country.. Ie. Family Law is based on probability: ie if it might ... more
  • carol annetta on Help Hinch fight DHS 'pinheads' having known this family for some time i am disgusted with the treatment she has received. it seems more of a witch hunt ... more
  • Maureen Hillary on Help Hinch fight DHS 'pinheads' Derryn,I have counselled traumatized parents as a result of DHS staff.There are great staff workers who care but they ... more
  • Janet Tavener on Help Hinch fight DHS 'pinheads' I am a visitor to this country.My attention was drawn to the case of these children and their foster mother by a relative of ... more
  • sam on Help Hinch fight DHS 'pinheads' Happening in Tasmania also.Wewon a court case over 8 months ago and due process still hasn't been done.We spent 17,000 ... more
  • Anne Glover on Help Hinch fight DHS 'pinheads' I just cannot believe what the DHS has put the Foster Mother, and the children through - I thought the DHS was supposed to ... more
  • Tracey on Help Hinch fight DHS 'pinheads' DHS are the most disgraceful organization I have ever had the displeasure of becoming involved with. They are so ... more
  • Vicki on Help Hinch fight DHS 'pinheads' Hi Derryn,I have known this carer since primary school, she has always put others above herself. Being a carer myself I know ... more
  • Gran'ma Pam on Help Hinch fight DHS 'pinheads' As any of us with any sense know, these children should NEVER have been taken from this lady (mum) in the first place, they ... more
  • Dominic Lombardo on Help Hinch fight DHS 'pinheads' I see my daughter every six months DHS are conducting a vendetta against me I have not been told why I can only see her ... more
  • cassy houghton on Help Hinch fight DHS 'pinheads' Hello Derryn,Firstly i would like to thankyou for your support and the willingness to help this beautiful family.I ... more
  • Warrior princess on Help Hinch fight DHS 'pinheads' Im a carer also in Qld. I see this happen way too much from our Government. They are starting to use Carers own children as ... more
  • paul on "I'll pay the fee," says Hinch I believe what Liberal Party has done is stupid. But I feel for candidates like Joh Bauch and James Buonopane who want to ... more
  • Andrea on Help Hinch fight DHS 'pinheads' Why are these public servants allowed to blatantly flout the law without the same consequences the rest of society faces? I ... more
  • birth mother on Help Hinch fight DHS 'pinheads' i am the birth morther of these 4 children and i just want to say dhs dont care they just want the kids in care so they can ... more
  • Frances Goff on Help Hinch fight DHS 'pinheads' Derryn, Firstly, Happy BirthdayHaving worked in a primary school for 15 year I have seen some terrible things regarding DHS ... more

What is the number leaders?

Posted by: Derryn Hinch | 20 July, 2010 - 4:15 PM

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott packs easy-peel oranges during a visit to Fruit World fruit and vegetables shop in the marginal seat of Deakin with Liberal candidate Phil Barresi in the Melbourne suburb of East Ringwood today.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott packs easy-peel oranges during a visit to Fruit World fruit and vegetables shop in the marginal seat of Deakin with Liberal candidate Phil Barresi in the Melbourne suburb of East Ringwood today. Photo: Glen McCurtayne

It is a bit rich you know. Julia Gillard is a migrant, so are her parents. So is Tony Abbott. So is Derryn Hinch.

More than 25% of Australians were born somewhere else. And that is what has made this country such a diverse multi-cultured country. And yet one of the major issues early in this federal election is immigration. What Julia Gillard calls ‘sustainable growth’.

We are not talking about boat people here. They are being cast as villains by both leaders.

Labor – having vilified John Howard for the Pacific Solution and processing illegals off shore – now wants to do exactly the same but on a different island.

Ms Gillard says she is not in favour of a 'big Australia'. Would like you to think she never was. That was all Kevin Who’s idea when she was just a member of the Gang of Four and a former Shadow Minister of Immigration.

What confuses me is that the PM keeps talking about ‘moving forward, moving forward’ but on this issue she says we should ‘stop, take a breath and plan a sustainable Australia’.

But what is a sustainable Australia? Give us a number? It was a Labor leader, Bill Hayden, who said Australia could sustain a population of 50 million. Julia Gillard doesn’t want 40 million. Doesn’t want 36 million. What is an acceptable figure?

Thirty million? Twenty-five? We’re close to that now.

We can’t follow the Chinese solution and limit families to one child. Our governments encourage population explosions with baby bonuses and first home buyers’ grants. And one of the first things that Julia Gillard did in this campaign was to be photographed kissing babies. It may surprise some people that geographically we are one of the most under-populated countries in the world.

True, most of our population is concentrated on the fringes of the east coast, but for a candidate who has made ‘moving forward’ her mantra Julia Gillard’s views on population growth smacks of a throwback to Fortress Australia.

There’s also a grubby dog whistle undercurrent that we were the right sort of migrants. This new breed is not.

Whatever, both Gillard and Abbott should give you a number: What is an acceptable population figure for this country 25 and 50 years from now.

PLAYING NOW: Derryn Hinch speak to Tony Burke, Minister for Sustainable Population.

Blog comments Your Say

  • Man does not live by empty space alone. Burke and Wills found that out. It doesn't matter how much empty space we have Derryn. We need water, good soil, etc.
    Who benfits from higher population? The average workers wage decreases slightly according to the Productivity Commission. The environment gets worse. Resources are used up faster. More congestion. more infrastructure spending needed? Who benefits?

    Eric Claus Wednesday 11 August, 2010 - 11:07 AM

  • There is not such thing as "sustainable" growth! It is an oxymoron. It is just another word for misanthropic growth. Everybody has their own subjective idea of a magic number, but it is based on whims and self interests. How do you limit growth after reaching this number?
    The great majority of Australians live on the coastal "green" areas. Carrying capacity is not proportional to the size of our continent!
    We are one of the most driest nations in the world with irregular water supplies. We have ancient soils and lack of arable soils. We need ecological and agricultural scientists to assess our "carrying capacity". We are increasingly facing a number of global threats, caused by runaway population growth and "peak" everything!
    Just because we had immigration in the past does not mean we always have to have it! We are not livestock, and more is not necessarily better.

    VivKay Tuesday 10 August, 2010 - 10:22 PM

  • Just because Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott were migrants doesn't mean we always have to have immigration and population growth! Any intelligent person would know that we can't simply have limitless growth in Australia. A farmer knows that overstocking a paddock with livestock will mean negative returns financially and in the value of the pasture!
    Immigration has been beneficial to Australia's makeup and wealth, but that doesn't mean that ongoing boosting of numbers in our country with a continual flow of people will make it even better. Australia has a limited "carrying capacity" due to our rainfall, our soil quality and our fragile coastal "green" areas. The size of our population should not be decided by business forces or subjective whims, but by a scientific analysis of what is sustainable.

    Milly O Tuesday 10 August, 2010 - 11:30 AM

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