INTENSIFYING MELBOURNE

A new report from Professor Kim Dovey & Ian Woodcock, University of Melbourne, argues for INTENSIFYING MELBOURNE to cope with our fast and ever increasing rate of population growth. ( See post below on Immigration numbers 2000-2014)

The report contains input from Rob Adams, City of Melbourne planner, Universities of Monash & Western Australia, State Government Departments of Planning & Transport as well as three councils.

It follows on from an earlier paper from Dovey & Woodcock "The Character of Urban Intensification" published in 2010, which also pushed intensification in some detail. Dovey & Woodcock made the point then that "population targets could be achieved at heights of four or five storeys". 

That means four or five storeys of apartment blocks in our residential areas, which is what we residents have been fighting against over the last 10 years or so. As a result of our lobbying, the last Coalition Government legislated for the new Residential Zones,as part of it's "Plan Melbourne",  which aims to protect our residential neighbourhoods against such over-development in our local streets. We have fought hard to get this protection but, now, it looks like the battle will start all over again.

Both reports are too large to attach to this item but can be downloaded by Googling - "The Character of Urban Intensification" and "Intensifyng Melbourne".

It will be interesting to see just how the new Labor Government reacts  and we should not forget that the planning profession largely relies upon the development industry for its income, so we should not be too surprised at this latest report from Dovey and Co.

Australia's Immigration Intakes 2000 - 2014

Australia's rate of population growth is 1.8% which compares with the world rate of only 1.1%. with Canada at 1.2%, US 0.7%. UK 0.6%, New Zealand & France at 0.5%.

Victoria's rate is 2.2%, so we are leading in the race to grow our population, which is placing real pressure on our infrastructure, public transport, gridlocked roads, schools, hospitals, water and power supplies, etc.  

MELBOURNE IS SET TO DOUBLE ITS POPULATION IN 30-35 YEARS TO OVER 8 MILLION.  ASK YOURSELF JUST WHO BENEFITS FROM THIS GROWTH?

The Productivity Commission says it is not the existing residents but the new arrivals who gain the benefits, and we add its is also the the development industry and the supporting businesses that supply all the furniture & fittings, white goods etc to fill the apartments and dwellings being built to house these new arrivals. Build more and more then bring in more and more to enable them to build more and more. Its just a great big Ponzi scheme.

Australia's immigration intakes since 2000 have steadily risen from 80.000pa to double that in 2009 and last year it was around the 250,000 Prior to 2000 it was a steady 70,000 to 80,000 pa.which enabled us to manage the growth.

if we return the rate to around the 70.000 to 80,000pa we could stabilize our population growth to a more manageable level but our governments, both State and Federal, are all for growth because,as Callum Pickering said, in the Business Spectator of 22 April 2014, "THE BIG AUSTRALIAN ILLUSION - its creating an illusion of (economic) growth while hoping we don't realize the reality.  (see attachment above).

We say it is time we all had a serious discussion on this rate of growth.What about a referendum on Australia's population growth? If we do nothing where will it all end? THE BIG AUSTRALIAN CRASH?