Stable Population Party policies represent our core values in action, being: Sustainable living; Egalitarian democracy; Fiscal responsibility; Global citizenship; and Productive innovation.

A stable population would help relieve Australia’s major problems, all of which are now either caused or exacerbated by population growth. We won't resolve any of Australia's major problems until we first resolve 'the everything issue' - population.

We say that Australians must be allowed to democratically choose our own population size; and that we need to do so now as a sovereign nation, so that we can plan our future well in advance. This is doubly important because the future is likely to be turbulent; and our finite resources, including energy, minerals, and fertile soil, may be much less abundant than now.

Population Policies

The Stable Population Party rejects any incentive aimed specifically and primarily at increasing Australia’s population. In order to achieve our objectives, we advocate the following two-point plan:

1. Adopt a 'balanced migration' program

• Annual permanent immigration would be roughly equivalent to annual permanent emigration. This would equate to permanent immigration of around 80,000 per annum, maintain our current 13,750 refugees per annum, include family reunions and ensure that skilled immigration exceeds skilled emigration.

2. Limit the baby bonus and paid parental leave to each woman's first two children

• This law would apply only to births occurring more than nine months after it was passed.

Importantly, our community party supports families and freedom of choice on family size, but not governments providing financial incentives to have large families. It is also important to note that a stable population will ease cost of living pressures, including housing, water prices, energy prices and road tolls that are all driven up by population growth.

Supplementary policies:

• Adopt a formal national 'population policy' to stabilise Australia's population as soon as practicably possible.
• Maintain Australia's current annual refugee intake of around 13,750*, within the immigration quota.
• Reject any selection of immigrants based on race or religion.
• Tie foreign aid wherever possible to the improvement of economic and environmental sustainability, with a particular focus on female rights and education, and on opportunities for women and couples to access reproductive health and voluntary family planning services to help prevent unwanted pregnancies.

Other Policies?

As outlined in our website, population growth is causing or exacerbating all of Australia's major problems. Yet no other political party is tackling the issue. This is why population needs its own platform, and why it is important to not dilute the message with other divisive and less important policy positions (e.g. carbon tax, gay marriage, republic).

As noted above, we won't resolve any of Australia's major problems until we first resolve 'the everything issue' - population.

South Australian Senator Nick Xenophon was elected on a narrow platform of 'no pokies' - and whilst this is an important issue, it is nowhere near as important as 'the everything issue'. Senator Xenophon now deals with a broad range of issue on a case-by-case basis. The Stable Population Party would also take this approach, backed and guided by our broad community party membership, including expert candidates and national committee members.

NB: Stable Population Party policies would always represent our core values in action, being: Sustainable living; Egalitarian democracy; Fiscal responsibility; Global citizenship; and Productive innovation.

Preferences?

The Stable Population Party will first determine who is running in any election or by-election, then allocate preferences according to our philosophy of a stable, sustainable, open and tolerant Australia, and our core values.

* It is important to note that asylum seekers arriving by boat do not increase Australia's rate of population growth in any material way. The Stable Population Party supports the bipartisan Liberal/Labor intake of around 14,000 genuine refugees per annum (the highest or second highest per capita intake in the Western world). It is ultimately immaterial to total population growth whether this 14,000 arrive by boat or plane. Of course only genuine refugees should be granted asylum, but the issues of asylum seekers arriving by boat and population growth are not and should not be linked for political purposes.

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