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<DIV>Friday 4 March 2011<BR><BR><B>Cities face crisis in a bigger Australia: CSU
expert<BR><BR></B>Major Australian cities face decreasing drinkable water,
increasing traffic congestion and pollution problems by 2050 if immediate
changes are not made to current government policy, says a leading Charles Sturt
University (CSU) academic.<BR><BR>Mr Barney Foran, a research fellow with the
University’s Institute for Land Water and Society <A
href="http://www.csu.edu.au/research/ilws/">http://www.csu.edu.au/research/ilws/</A>
, is also concerned that Sydney, Melbourne and Perth could grind to a halt if
the predictions of ‘peak oil’ are reached in the next 20 years.<BR><BR>And he
warns that the current Federal policy to encourage a larger Australia population
growth is putting future Australians on the road to a more constrained
future.<BR>“Multimillion dollar plans to restructure and rebuild Sydney,
Melbourne and Perth have already been developed. However, the immediacy of
natural disasters such as fires, floods and cyclones in recent months remind us
of the growing risks facing Australians in a changing climate and that
longer-term plans may be ‘put on the backburner’ while day-to-day recovery
projects receive priority.”<BR><BR>Mr Foran believes that if Australia
transitions to a relatively stable population of between 26 and 28 million
people in 2050, the nation will be more resilient to future economic and
environmental shocks. <BR><BR>“A stable population would allow better
planning, good design, ongoing retrofitting and low impact lifestyles to evolve
in Australia while maintaining relatively high living standards,” he says. By
design, a larger Australia means we are always catching up on critical
infrastructure and environmental problems.<BR><BR>“Oil is a particular concern.
Expecting that oil will always be cheap and easily available is a key
uncertainty, whether Australia is bigger or smaller. Decreasing oil availability
could solve traffic congestion problems in our cities but will leave many people
marooned in isolated suburbs that lack mass transport connections. <BR>“We
already have solutions planned but they have not been embraced with the vigour
and speed needed to match the risk we now face.”<BR><BR>According to Mr Foran,
technologists and engineers promise that the solutions exist to solve many of
the water, energy, ‘greenhouse’ and pollution issues. <BR>“But in reality, hot
button topics like ‘housing affordability’ mean that new suburbs consist of
average houses whose size and designs keep adding to the average impact of each
Australian, rather than the one-half or one-third impact which we need to stall
the impending crises in energy and water. So each extra Australian has the same
impact as current ones!”<BR><BR>Mr Foran believes ending the ‘Ponzi’ scheme
behind the drive for a bigger Australia will not be without pain. “Most people’s
aspirations are based on an economy that always grows, makes jobs for our
children and fills our superannuation accounts. <BR><BR>“A smaller Australia
could live within its means, repair its rivers and soil and limit its loss of
biodiversity. But few of our political leaders will dare talk about this other
Australia unless they take a longer view of where Australia is going, rather
than just winning the next election.”<BR><BR>Mr Foran’s concerns arise from his
recent paper published this month in the journal <I>People and Place</I> looking
at Australia’s energy, water, biodiversity and land resources in the face of a
major increase in population by 2050.
<BR>
<B>ends<BR>Further information: Wes Ward, Corporate Communication and Media,
<BR>telephone (02) 6051 9906, mobile 0417 125 795, email <A
href="mailto:wward@csu.edu.au">wward@csu.edu.au</A>, <BR>or see CSU News <A
href="http://www.csu.edu.au/news"><U>www.csu.edu.au/news</A> <BR><BR></U>Media
note:<BR></B>CSU adjunct research fellow Mr Barney Foran has presented his
concerns in a paper in the latest issue of <I>People and Place</I> <A
href="http://search.informit.com.au/browseJournalTitle;res=APAFT;issn=1039-4788">http://search.informit.com.au/browseJournalTitle;res=APAFT;issn=1039-4788</A>
(Vol 18 no 4). For interviews and pictures with Mr Foran, contact CSU
Media.</DIV></BODY></HTML>