John Richard Coulter (born 3 December 1930) is an Australian medical researcher and former politician. He was the fourth elected parliamentary Senate leader of the Australian Democrats, serving from 2 October 1991 to 29 April 1993. His understanding of conservation and environment principles was exceptional for the time, though his concern about Australian immigration and population growth occasionally brought him into conflict with the party's non-discriminatory humanitarian and human-rights platforms. He first took office in the Senate in 1987, representing South Australia, and resigned from the Senate on 20 November 1995 (excerpt from Wikipedia).
John has been active with Sustainable Population Australia (SPA) since the organisation's inception as Australians for an Ecologically Sustainable Population in 1988. He has supported the organisation in various roles, including President, Vice-President and Treasurer. He is currently active as the Representative for South Australia and Northern Territory on the SPA executive committee.
John Coulter has been a guest on 2 episodes.
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In Memoriam: Dr John Coulter
December 13th, 2024 | Season 7 | 1 hr 3 mins
australian democrats, conservation, degrowth, john coulter, post-growth, sustainable population australia
In this episode of Post-Growth Australia Podcast (PGAP), we pay tribute to Dr. John Coulter, who sadly passed away in September 2024. John Richard Coulter (3 December 1930 – 6 September 2024) was a trailblazer in the conservation movement, most notably serving as Leader of the Australian Democrats in the early 1990s. In 1971, he organized an open letter published in The Australian newspaper, addressed "to those who shape Australia’s destiny," urging them to recognize the limits to growth.
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World Population Day 2021: Beyond population with SPA and Nature's Way Films
July 6th, 2021 | Season 2 | 1 hr 13 mins
democrats, igr, john coulter, limits to growth, nature's way, spa, way to live
This episode of PGAP falls on World Population Day and is also PGAP’s first year anniversary! Instead of celebrating with balloons and confetti – because they’re bad for the environment – we mark the occasion instead by interviewing two very special guests. Dr. John Coulter, former leader of The Democrats and long term member of Sustainable Population Australia, looks back on an ad he posted on The Australia in 1971 calling for limits to growth – exactly 50 years ago. Host Michael Bayliss also talks with filmmaker Dubhaltagh O Hearcain of Nature’s Way Films, to discuss a brand new documentary on overpopulation ‘The Way To Live.’ Both interviewees call for a movement ‘beyond population’ towards a bigger picture of equity and living within the physical limits of the natural world. A gargantuan episode for gargantuan times.