Community deserves a mature population debate – Stable Population Party

The Stable Population Party is presenting the new ‘GrowthBusters: Hooked on Growth’ documentary across Australia from March 14. GrowthBusters is a film by US director Dave Gardner asking: How do we become a sustainable civilization?

The GrowthBusters events present an excellent opportunity to engage the media and bring community members together to encourage rational, mature debate on population. Screenings will include the party’s inaugural candidate announcements, Q&A and guest appearances by Dave Gardner.

“We need to debate whether population growth is still in Australia’s best interests, and whether aggregate GDP is the best way to measure human wellbeing,” said William Bourke of the Stable Population Party.

Population growth is now causing or exacerbating Australia’s major problems. A stable population will relieve our overstretched infrastructure, ease cost of living pressures like housing, water and energy prices, protect our food and water security, and protect the environment including Australia’s native bushland and animal habitat; amongst many other things. The party was formed to give all Australians a choice on ‘the everything issue’ – population. A sustainable Australia starts with a stable population.

“We know that endless population growth is not inevitable, and that big business is behind the push for a bigger population, simply to growth their customer base and profits. Businessman Gerry Harvey let the cat out of the bag recently when he said:

“You need growth, you need people. Population creates [sales] growth.”

“But while big business profits, ordinary Australians are worse off. There’s no point having a bigger GDP cake if you get a thinner slice. Furthermore, endless population growth is impossible in a finite world.

“The population debate is about the sustainable management of resources, and the ever-growing negative impacts on our economic, environmental and social wellbeing. Most fundamentally, the population debate is about choice. We should have the right to determine our future without the big business tail wagging the national interest dog,” said Mr Bourke.

Screenings: Melbourne: March 14 (Australian premiere) | Brisbane: March 16 | Canberra: March 20 | Hobart: March 21 | Adelaide: March 22 | Sydney: March 27 | Perth: March 29 | Darwin: April 3

Full details: http://www.populationparty.org.au/templates/pop/page/page_html_standard.php?secID=207

The Stable Population Party was registered by the Australian Electoral Commission on 23 September 2010:
www.populationparty.org.au
William Bourke, Dave Gardner, Stable Population Party