CAROL BAILEY: Not only Malcolm King paints population growth in glowing terms rather than facts (United by the dole queue, InDaily, June 24, 2013).

At the June meeting of AIUS at its venue RiAus, Tom Koutsantonis, SA Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, put a positive spin on the Urban Renewal Bill saying it is necessary to save good agricultural land while improving the quality of life and amenity in new increased density city living areas.

There’s a simplistic logic to this – while facts are ignored that 1300ha of prime agricultural land has been rezoned residential at Mount Barker and more growth is planned for 100,000 people on food producing land north of Adelaide. Discussion of ‘vibrant’ town centres and TODS ignores the fact that Mount Barker has no train, no TOD, no employment, no infrastructure and will rely on greatly increased road use, contra to all the goals and aspirations of the 30 Year Plan, the State’s planning ‘vision’ for the future.

The most recent report of the NGAA (National Growth Areas Alliance of 25 fastest growing municipalities) shows that ALL Australia’s growth regions are experiencing rising unemployment and poverty and declining environment and social amenity. It is very clear that population growth is a burden not a benefit. This is brought into sharp focus when natural resources, arable land and water are in decline. The ‘voices of the outer suburbs’ are crying out for access to basic services and infrastructure, which must inevitably result in dense development and urban sprawl from Adelaide’s heart to ‘growth targets’ as remote as Mount Barker, Murray Bridge, Strathalbyn, Gawler and far beyond. There is no ecological or social sustainability in such a ‘plan’.