Sustainable Population Australia (SPA) (formerly Australians for an Ecologically Sustainable Population) is an Australian special

advocacy group Advocacy groups, also known as lobby groups, interest groups, special interest groups, pressure groups, or public associations, use various forms of advocacy or lobbying to influence public opinion and ultimately public policy. They play an impor ...

, founded in

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

in 1988, that seeks to establish an

ecologically sustainable Ecologically sustainable development is the environmental component of sustainable development. It can be achieved partially through the use of the precautionary principle; if there are threats of serious or irreversible environmental damage, lack o ...

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 Population growth is the increase in the number of people in a population or dispersed group. The World population, global population has grown from 1 billion in 1800 to 8.2 billion in 2025. Actual global human population growth amounts to aroun ...

exacerbates Australia's

water shortage Water scarcity (closely related to water stress or water crisis) is the lack of fresh water resources to meet the standard water demand. There are two types of water scarcity. One is ''physical.'' The other is ''economic water scarcity''. Physic ...

and adds to

greenhouse gas emissions Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from human activities intensify the greenhouse effect. This contributes to climate change. Carbon dioxide (), from burning fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum, oil, and natural gas, is the main cause of climate chan ...

. 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 The Australian continent was first settled when ancestors of Indigenous Australians arrived via the islands of Maritime Southeast Asia and New Guinea over 50,000 years ago. European colonisation began in 1788 with the establishment of a B ...

. Immigration to Australia has averaged around 200,000 per annum over the past decade. It is the highest rate of immigration in the world. SPA also opposes plans by the government to increase population growth with the

baby bonus A baby bonus is a government payment to parents of a newborn baby or adopted child to assist with the costs of childrearing. Argentina A baby bonus was introduced in 1996 for both born (and not yet born) and adopted children. Its means tested ...

, a payout that encourages parents to have more children. SPA believes that the baby bonus, and the many other government "breeding incentives", should only be paid for the first child, halved for the second, and not paid at all for any more births than tha

References

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External links

Sustainable Population Australia
Demographics of Australia Environmental organisations based in Australia 1988 establishments in Australia Population concern advocacy groups Organizations promoting population moderation

See also

References

External links