Population: looking at the numbers with Bob Abbot
- Sunshine Coast mayor Bob Abbot sees uncontrolled population growth as an insanity
- We’re looking at 98,000 dwellings that the State Government has told us we have to build in the next 20 to 25 years
Sunshine Coast Mayor, Bob Abbot
Charismatic Sunshine Coast mayor Bob Abbot says he can see a light at the end of the tunnel in the population-growth debate.
He is comforted to a degree that it has now become a mainstream issue and some former ‘development-at-all-costs’ proponents are at last beginning to understand the folly of fast-tracking southeast Queensland into what could be dangerous territory.
Bob, a man who is able to cut to the chase in an argument, sees the problem simply. In fact, he uses simple arithmetic to highlight the long-term impracticality of some state planning decisions.
But firstly, he gives a broad brush response to the people who still see no problem with ever-continuing population growth.
“It’s important to get an understanding that continual reliance on population growth in your environmental, economic and lifestyle policies is a self-defeating philosophy,” he said.
Then on a local level he gets down to the nasty mathematics of it.
“We’re looking at 98,000 dwellings that the State Government has told us we have to build in the next 20 to 25 years,” he said.
For simplicity’s sake he considers some statistics and the equation relating to a thousand new homes.
“The way I look at it is – if one were to consider that there would be on average 2.3 or 2.5 persons per household there would also be on average 1.2 or maybe 1.5 persons, given the modern society, in that house needing jobs immediately, the moment they turn up,” he added.
Being generous with the figures and taking on board other employment considerations, the mayor computes that there could be 500 people looking for jobs either short term or long term in that size of community.
And armed with more statistics, he argues that in that community of 1000 houses no more than 200 permanent long term jobs could be created. The short-term jobs were mainly in constructing the new homes.
“So there’s a discrepancy somewhere – perhaps somewhere between 200 and 500 jobs we just don’t have, we don’t create in the community. So that starts the ball rolling – what are you going to do to get employment for those people?” is the mayor’s rhetorical question.
“The first thing to do is to go and build another 1000 homes to keep those people in work. But really you need to build 2000 homes this time to also keep the extra people in work.
“For anyone who is arguing ‘continuous growth at any cost is good for the economy’ has no long-term view of the economy and a very short-term view of the industry.”
The mayor leans his impressive form back into his office chair and agrees it’s a simple but compelling argument from his point.
“In that scenario, not only do you not create the jobs that the people will tell us you are going to create, you also lessen the quality of lifestyle here because you increase pressure on all of those things that we want,” said the mayor.
“The time will come on the Sunshine Coast when you’ll have to pay for parking at the beach, like what’s happening at the Gold Coast now. It might be fine for the tourists, but the first thing that’ll be said here locally is that locals shouldn’t have to pay for it.
“However, the more locals we’ve got, the more reason they’re going to have to pay – because they’re going to have to share.
“So simple things like that we are not writing into the equation. A longevity equation of lifestyle, environment and economy are the things that drive me.”
As far as population is concerned, Bob Abbot is wondering where the tipping point is for southeast Queensland and especially for his Sunshine Coast bailiwick.
“What are the things that we need to know to understand to find out where that tipping point is and what are the things that create it?” he asks.
And in a pointed reference to Albert Einstein’s famous definition of insanity, he said: “My continued argument is that we can’t continue ‘doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results’.”
He says we are at risk of losing the things that are important to us.
But does Bob and his councillors have the fight to try to get reversed what appears to be a State Government fait accompli on population targets? Without a good old-fashioned fight there will be no challenge to the top level pro-growth cabal and Bob will not be able to champion his community. In just a short time we will know which way Bob and his councillors go. Otherwise his lamenting will be just empty rhetoric.
Many people are relying on him to help save their lifestyles and their livelihoods. For some it is too late.
Related articles:
- Paul Summers: population distribution, size and sustainability
- Population: perpetual growth is not the answer
- Challenging times ahead for new council
- Time for a steady-state economy
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