http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,,26116017-5013479,00.html
Caused my friend to write this comment - my reply is below.
Hey Max, hate to say this but you are wrong.
What he is saying is that population increase for Australia is a good thing. I totally agree.
We desperately need a 20x increase in the number of Australian residents.
Until we do Australia will always be a 2 city country.
No one wants to live in Wangaratta.....because no one lives in Wangaratta (ask me why wangaratta in another medium....too long a story for Facebook but has to do with copper mesh floors).
The best thing Australia could do is implement a 5 year 'rural only visa') that opened the floodgates to anyone willing to move to Australia BUT live in the country/rural areas for the first 5 years.
Employment and manafacturing for this new influx would then spring up in places like..... Wangaratta :)
Cheers,
Dean
Fair comment. I wish someone had forced me to move somewhere other than Sydney when I came to live here ;)
ReplyDeletewhat's wrong with being a two city country? Last I heard we're the only country that didn't fair to badly during this crisis.
ReplyDeleteDean 20 years ago scientists said Australia - as a continent cant sustain the amount of people we already have. Since then - 5 lakes that i grew up swimming in in RURAL Australia are gone. As a result of changing weather conditions, water restrictions and razed landscapes people in the country are suffering and struggling more than ever to stay afloat. We have failed as a nation to demonstrate that we can build and plan effectively for the future. The Infrastructure (not to mention technologies) in Sydney is stretched to the limit already. A lot needs to be done that may well be above the levels of intelligence of politicians and peoples that we are currently shaping. Once i saw hope here. But we have regressed back into being a nation of violent car loving sports headed racist misogynist.
ReplyDelete...I live in Wangaratta...
ReplyDeleteHey Steve, dont feel bad, i actually really like Wangaratta when i was there.
ReplyDeleteIt had a number of surprising aspects.
(btw i was there looking at the old ibm pc factory. is it still there? what happened to it?)
LOL nah don't worry. Wang has everything you need and nothing you don't.
ReplyDeleteAs for the IBM factory I'm not sure but the whole area of that site is being re-developed as an equine training center ('National Centre for Equine Education') for Goulburn Valley TAFE. The site looks great and it's good it's being put to use.
BTW, I agree 200% that some form of 'de-centralised' migration should take place not only with new arrivals but also current aussies. I lived in Syd and you can shove it. My wife and I were working 3 jobs to make ends meet.
We've been in Wang for 5 years now, have had 3 kids with another on the way, own our own home, and are happy.
Dean there is a great article in this months new scientist about population - overall consensus is
ReplyDelete"Countries that learn to live in properity with an ageing, stagnant population, or even one that is shrinking, will be tghe trendsetters for a sustainable future". AUstralia has the chance to develop a bluyeprint for these modern societies for econimies that found their wealth and well-being not on growth but on stability.