Sustainable Population Australia (SPA) has welcomed Metallurgist and corporate analyst Peter Strachan as its new president. Former leader of the Australian Democrats Dr John Coulter has also been appointed SPA's sixth Patron.
Mr Strachan is well known in the Perth community and has been active in the population debate for 45 years. For 17 years he managed StockAnalysis, an independent investment analyst licenced by Australian Financial Services.
Mr Strachan has become increasingly concerned about the impact that rapid population growth has on the natural environment, both globally and in his home state.
He says that, in common with many parts of the planet, "Western Australia has experienced long periods of hotter than normal weather along with a multi-decade drying trend in the south of the state. Impacts of global warming have been exacerbated locally by vegetation loss along the state's coastal plain and the southwest land division. The situation is becoming increasingly precarious for the region's agriculture and its unique habitats and biodiversity."
"Anthropogenic climate change is driven by human population numbers. As our numbers grow, there is less of every resource to share."
"At a time when housing has become unaffordable for most and rental availability is virtually zero, encouraging population expansion of over 87,000 last year would appear to be reckless and thoughtless. This is equivalent to one and a half capacity crowds at the Perth Stadium.
"Costs associated with delivery of public infrastructure such as power, water, sewerage, schools and hospitals, escalate faster than they can be met, resulting on the erosion of quality of life for everyone in Western Australia."
"Nothing grows forever in a finite environment. Never-ending expansion is the modus operandi of a cancer cell, which eventually kills its host. Humankind needs to be smarter than yeast."
Dr John Coulter has been an active environmentalist for over 60 years and has advocated for population stabilisation for decades, particularly when he was a Senator for South Australia.
Dr Coulter's understanding of conservation and environment principles is now widely recognised as being exceptional for the time, as far back as the 1950s and 60s. He was instrumental in bringing population into public debate in the early 1970s.
Dr Coulter said he was "deeply honoured" to be made a Paron of SPA.
