Posts tagged environment

Cause I think we’re on different pages here.  I heard you gave a talk this morning about building a “sustainable Australia”, and I thought that you were going to make a tops announcement.

Turned out you were unveiling something about drainage in country towns.

Now, I don’t have anything against country towns.  I mean, really, I freaking LOVE going to the Bunbury Forum:  I makes me feel like I’m at Fountain Gate and I keep hoping I might see Kath or Kim.

The thing is, right — I don’t think this “Building Better Regional Cities” business is really gonna Help Keep Australia Sustainable.

Sure, you help set up some satellite city out in “The Regions” somewhere, but isn’t what this policy will really do is making it ok to keep letting people have their massive darn McMansions with huge water-sucking lawns and massive pools, without thinking about more efficient ways of living.  Isn’t it just gonna encourage urban sprawl in a different way by just urbanising the regions?

Plus, won’t all those people with their big comfy houses in “The Regions” still just drive their cars back to the real city for pretty much everything…? Basically, I just don’t see how any of this is about sustainability.

It’s not sustainability if you’re just making it easier for people to keep living they way they’re living without facing up to the fact their consumption-driven lifestyles are wasteful.

If you don’t believe in a ‘big Australia’, Julia, don’t go about unlocking more land so that people can live just as large as they always have been.

Encourage people to live simpler lives that leave a smaller footprint — tax breaks for apartments or something? Funding for better public transport in the cities we’ve already got?? Banning families of 4 having a three storey houses with seven plasmas and a pool???

Now, I actually think the region stuff you put out is pretty good.  I just think you’ve got it wrong by saying this is about sustainability.  It’s really not.  It’s about supporting the continuing growth of Australia’s population.

Frankly, Julia, this is all about ‘Big Australia’.

There’s a lot more stuff that has to go into making that growth ‘sustainable’ than just building a few more housing developments in “The Regions”.

And some of that stuff is undoubtedly going to involve encouraging a serious attitude shift in this country.

The question is, are we, as a country, ready & willing to make that shift?

Cheers
Sunili