Michael Bayliss has been an activist for the past decade within the environmental and post-growth movements. He is the Communications Manager and former Victoria/Tasmanian President at Sustainable Population Australia (SPA). The focus of his work involves advocacy regarding choice for small families and for working cooperatively with our global neighbours to create equitable societies that do not rely on perpetual growth.
Examples of his written work can be found at Independent Australia, where we was awarded the most read article of 2018. He has produced videos detailing the impacts of endless growth in Australia and has been interviewed extensively in the media, e.g. ABC News24, Jon Faine Conversation Hour, SBS radio.
You may also be interested in his videos for World Environment Day, his interview with comedian Rod Quantock and introducing the new documentary film ‘8 Billion Angels’
Previously, he has coordinated various grassroots community groups in Melbourne such as Doing It Ourselves and Gnomes Urban Gardening Network. He is a participant in the international Post Growth Alliance, run by the Post Growth Institute. He co-founded Population Permaculture and Planning (PPP) in 2015 as a means to communicate the critical role that town planning plays in the move towards future sustainable communities. PPP has since delivered workshops to activists and environmentalists across Australia. This year he will be helping to launch the Town Planning Rebellion movement.
Michael takes his policies into his home life, where he lives in an intentional shared-living community based on the Retrosuburbia principles, where he looks after a lush permaculture garden. He writes songs around environmental and climate change grief with his band Shock Octopus.
Michael Bayliss has hosted 75 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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Post US Election Blues: Where Do We Take Our Activism from Here?
November 29th, 2024 | Season 7 | 47 mins 58 secs
commentary and opinion, counting backwards, degrowth, holistic activism, post-growth, us election results
The aftermath of the US election has left many of us in a state of shock. Voters were faced with a stark choice between more growth-based neoliberalism or alt right extremism, choosing the latter. It was a great day for billionaires either way. As Australia looks to face a very similar choice in mid-2025, it is clear that activists must take stock, recalibrate and work together effectively to advocate for a third alternative that celebrates people and planet. PGAP co-hosts Mark Allen and Michael Bayliss discuss their responses to the election and their recent engagements toward a Degrowth future.
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PGAP presents Rethinking Sustainability Radio Documentary
November 17th, 2024 | Season 7 | 57 mins 26 secs
clive hamilton, degrowth, ecological economics, ian lower, michael kirby, modern monetary theory, post-growth, rethinking sustainability, rod taylor, will steffen
Welcome back to a brand-new Season Seven of Post Growth Australia Podcast!
As our world teeters on the edge of an increasingly perilous environmental future—extending beyond climate change—we must ask: what does true sustainability entail? How far are we from it, what are the root causes of our current trajectory, and what paths could lead us there?
Rod Taylor (author, columnist, radio host) asks these very questions to eleven esteemed Australian scientists and thinkers in a brand-new radio documentary. PGAP is proud to be the first platform to share this thought-provoking documentary, which explores ecological economics, planned Degrowth and Modern Monetary Theory.
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Season Six Finale with Degrowth Network Australia
August 25th, 2024 | Season 6 | 37 mins 49 secs
activism, degrowth, degrowth network australia, nena conference, post-growth, social justice, theatre
to be added
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A Post Growth Approach to Urban Planning with Michael Buxton
August 14th, 2024 | Season 6 | 48 mins 52 secs
degrowth, michael buxton, planning democracy, population, steady-state, town planning, urban planning
The way in which we plan our cities and towns has a huge impact on the way we live. This in turn impacts our carbon emissions and ecological footprints. Fortunately, there are a few urban planners who recognise that transitioning to a degrowth, steady-state system is imperative for the future of urban planning. Our special guest, Emeritus Professor Michael Buxton (OAM) is one such expert.
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Mini Episode: Shane Simonsen on Farming, Podcasts, Books and Population
July 26th, 2024 | Season 6 | 15 mins 13 secs
degrowth, going to seed podcast, our vitreous womb, population, shane simonsen, taming the acocalypse, zero input agriculture
We caught up with Shane to get an update of the farm - including the addition of some new four legged residents - only to discover that Shane has branched out accross many projects including: Cohosting the 'Going to Seed' podcast; authoring 'Our Vitreous Womb' and 'Taming the Apocalypse' as well as two articles on overpopulation written for 'Zero Input Agriculture'.
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World Population Day 2024 Special
July 10th, 2024 | Season 6 | 42 mins 42 secs
degrowth, holistic activism, mark allen, michael bayliss, post-growth, sustainable population australia, world population day 2024
Welcome to PGAP’s “World Population Day 2024” special episode, where your co-hosts Mark Allen and Michael Bayliss share their recent contributions to the sustainable population movement. World Population Day is an annual event, observed on July 11 every year, which seeks to raise awareness of global population issues
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Mini Episode: Larry Blight, Noongar Menang Friend of Yakamia Forest Boodja
July 2nd, 2024 | Season 6 | 10 mins 39 secs
albany, conservation, degrowth, larry blight, noongar menang, yakamia forest boodja
PGAP welcomes back Larry Blight, Noongar Menang cultural educator and friend of Yakamia Forest Boodja for this mini episode, ahead of NAIDOC week.
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Post Growth Guide with Marcus Feldthus
June 24th, 2024 | Season 6 | 1 hr 7 mins
degrowth, degrowth in business, marcus feldthus, post growth guide
For our first full length episode for this season, our special guest is Marcus Feldthus from Post Growth Guide. Post Growth Guide is a company based in Denmark, where Marcus Feldthus Oscar Haumann work within the business community to assist other organisations in transitioning toward Post-Growth ways of operation. This is crystalised in the handbook "Setting Limits To Growth:How to make better business decisions in the 21st century" which also serves as a document of their own journey, still in progress, toward becoming a Post-Growth business.
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Mini Episode: Alex Baumann on Public Housing and Degrowth
June 6th, 2024 | Season 6 | 21 mins 42 secs
alex baumann, degrowth, land tenure, public housing, sustainable futures
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Season Finale: Going deep into Deep Ecology with John Seed
April 2nd, 2024 | Season 5 | 59 mins 12 secs
deep ecology, holistic activism, john seed, rainforest information centre, world bank song
For the final episode of season 5, PGAP welcomes special guest John Seed (OAM). John is founder and director of Australia’s Rainforest Information Centre and is an Australian figurehead for the Deep Ecology Movement. A long time hero of both co-hosts Mark and Michael, John combines decades of successful environmental activism with an emphasis toward re-establishing a deep emotional connection with the natural world. It is the disconnection from nature which has resulted in the endless growth paradigm which is tearing apart our societies and our planet. John shares his thoughts on why system change is not enough and why a fundamental shift in our collective psychology is needed to get us out of this mess.
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BONUS EPISODE: Sustainable Population Australia says NO to a Big Australia
March 22nd, 2024 | Season 5 | 11 mins 59 secs
jane o'sullivan, leith van onselen, martin tye, position statement, public forum, say no to big australia campaign, sustainable population australia
For this short bonus episode of PGAP, we welcome back Martin Tye, Social Media and Promotions Coordinator of Sustainable Population Australia (SPA). Martin shares with us the details of SPA's new campaign 'Say NO to a Big Australia!' He also gives us a heads up on SPA's public forum, being held in Adelaide on April 20th, "From housing crisis to eco-crisis: Why Australia's Population Growth is Unsustainable," including keynote speakers Leith van Onselen and Dr Jane O'Sullivan.
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Finding The Money with Maren Poitras
February 29th, 2024 | Season 5 | 49 mins 43 secs
degrowth, ecological economics, film tour, finding the money, maren poitras, mmt, modern monetary theory, post-growth, sustainable population
As this episode goes to air, a brand-new documentary on Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) is touring Australia and PGAP has been given the incredible opportunity to speak to USA based director of "Finding the Money", Maren Poitras. Maren has just embarked on a screening tour of South East Australia alongside Stephanie Kelton, who is a leading proponent of the MMT movement and author of ‘The Deficit Myth’.
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Debunking Green Growth with Timothée Parrique
February 9th, 2024 | Season 5 | 58 mins 23 secs
beyond growth, decoupling, degrowth, economics, green growth, post-growth, timothee parrique
For this episode of Post-Growth Australia Podcast, we go international by welcoming our esteemed guest Timothée Parrique, who is based in France and Sweden. Timothée is an economist at the School of Economics and Management of Lund University (Sweden). He has built a steady reputation as a colourful writer and speaker on the fallacies of our growth-based economy and is a loud and proud advocate of Degrowth, Post-Growth and Steady State based solutions.
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Conversation with Noongar Menang Educator and Storyteller Larry Blight
January 8th, 2024 | Season 5 | 49 mins 5 secs
degrowth, first nations, larry blight, noongar menang, overdevelopment, population, western australia, yakamia forest
Happy new 2024! For this very special episode of Post-Growth Australia Podcast, we interview Menang Noongar educator Larry Blight on site at the Yakamia forest, one of the few remnant bushlands in Albany, which is currently under threat from overdevelopment (of course!) Larry discusses the environmental and cultural significance of the Yakamia forest. We then delve into a broader conversation across many issues such as overdevelopment, colonisation, the perils of neoliberalism and population policy. Larry incorporates his local knowledge and his connection to Boodja (Land) in what is a very deep and insightful conversation.
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PGAP live at the NENA conference: Life After Capitalism
December 14th, 2023 | Season 5 | 1 hr 55 mins
degrowth, new economy network australia, post-capitalism, post-growth, wellbeing economies
PGAP recently had the pleasure of travelling to Canberra to record live at the 2023 New Economy Network Australia (NENA) conference: ‘Life after Capitalism’. We recorded a collage of presentations and interviews with conferences attendees in order to showcase nearly two hours of Post-Growth goodness. This episode includes well-known names such as Tom Ballard, Donnie MacLurcan, Anitra Nelson and Gareth Hughes.