Population Growth – What’s in it For You?

A free public information forum to discuss the impact of population growth in regional areas will be held in Toowoomba on Wednesday 8 December 2010, from 7pm – 9pm, Jacaranda Room, Grand Central Shopping Centre.

Hosted by Householders’ Options to Protect the Environment (HOPE), the evening’s topic will be ‘Regionalisation of population growth: whose agenda is it and what’s in it for us?’

The Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) is currently calling on the state government to develop a population policy. LGAQ believes more needs to be done to manage the impacts of a growing population on environmental and natural resources, as well as providing for services and infrastructure.

According to HOPE president Frank Ondrus, the forum is a unique opportunity for the public to have their say on the increasing population and its potential impacts on their region, and to talk about such issues as sustainability, jobs, development and the local environment.

By 2031, Queensland is estimated to be home to 6.3 million people”, says Mr. Ondrus, however, at the moment we are only reacting to trends in population growth. We should be preparing for growth. We should be talking about the potential impacts on the local environment and our natural resources, as well as our ability to provide services and infrastructure to this expanding population.”

Speakers at the forum on Wednesday 8 December include Jane O’Sullivan from Sustainable Population Australia (SPA) and Dr Geoff Cockfield Associate Professor (Government and Economics) & Deputy Dean of the University of Southern Queensland.

For further information, or to RSVP for the forum please contact Frank Ondrus on 4639 2135 or email office@hopeaustralia.org.au.

Submitted by Keryn Donnelly, Media Officer – HOPE Inc