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.

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

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.

Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of Population Media Center with Bill Ryerson

June 8th, 2023  |  Season 4  |  1 hr 2 mins

bill ryerson, east los high, paul winter, pmc, population media center, spa, sustainable population australia

In 1998 Population Media Center (PMC) was formed to ‘make the stories that remake our world’. 25 years later, radio and TV shows, supported by PMC, have been heard throughout the world, including Ethiopia, Senegal and Papua New Guinea. Produced in collaboration with local communities and local scriptwriters, these shows share a common thread in that the audience are invited to consider positive family planning decisions through the role modelling of engaging and identifiable characters. PGAP was very fortunate to be joined by special guest Bill Ryerson, President and Founder of PMC. He talks us through the ‘stories behind the stories’ of PMC's many award winning and popular projects.

Housing Crisis?? What Housing Crisis!!

May 26th, 2023  |  Season 4  |  1 hr 7 secs

adelaide fringe, boomer and the doomer, counting backwards, housing crisis, shock octopus, sustainable population australia

Fun Fact! When your co-hosts Michael Bayliss and Mark Allen aren’t making brand new episodes of PGAP, they are involved in many other worthy enterprises. Michael has just co-written a brand new report “Population and the Housing Crisis”. Mark performed his debut show at the Adelaide Fringe, “The Boomer and The Doomer.” Like most things we do, this all flew under the blip of the mainstream media radar, so we took the opportunity this episode to interview each other on our respective endeavours.

Welcome to Asbestosville! Season 4 Premiere with Michael Bayliss and Mark Allen

November 7th, 2022  |  Season 4  |  1 hr 12 mins

8 billion, asbestos, degrowth, holistic activism, post-growth, sustainable population australia, town planning rebellion, urban planning

We can’t believe that PGAP is into its fourth season already! So, to shake things up, Michael is being joined by Mark Allen from Town Planning Rebellion and Holistic Activism as the co-host for this season. This first episode of the season is the culmination of a personal journey for them both. These experiences have also been written down in the form of a blog: “A Year in Asbestosville: A Farcical Tale of Systemic Failure.” In addition to our personal journeys, we also discuss some Degrowth related current affairs. These include 8 billion day on November 15 and Liz Truss and her unintentional launching of the Anti-Growth Coalition.

3 Women 2 Countries 1 Message: World Population Day 2022

July 4th, 2022  |  Season 3  |  1 hr 17 mins

canada, degrowth, karen shragg, madeline weld, moving upstream, population institute canada, sustainable population australia, usa, valorie allen, world population day 2022

World Population Day is approaching on July 11. According to the United Nations Population Fund, ‘8 billion people means 8 billion opportunities’, however many population sustainability advocates are not quite so optimistic. For this episode, PGAP welcome back Karen Shragg, American and Degrowth activist, along with two new guests, Madeline Weld and Valorie Allen from Canada. In this special four way discussion, we explore the similarities and contrasts of the population movement in across our respective countries and unite to shred the myths and misconceptions around population sustainability.

Population and Climate Change with Ian Lowe and Jane O'Sullivan

April 15th, 2022  |  Season 3  |  1 hr 3 mins

discussion paper, ian lowe, jane o'sullivan, limits to growth, new report, population and climate change, spa, sustainable population australia

Did you know that climate mitigation models show that the only scenarios that avoid dangerous climate change are those which assume global population peaks in the next decade and then declines? Why is no-one talking about this? Luckily for us and the future of the planet, PGAP’s two guests for this episode, Professor Ian Lowe and Doctor Jane O’Sullivan, have written a new discussion paper ‘Population and Climate Change.’ Co-written with Doctor Peter Cook and commissioned by Sustainable Population Australia, this new report uses clear concise language with thorough scientific research to make a very strong case for the role that population plays in this warming world. PGAP speaks with Jane and Ian to unwrap the key points behind the discussion paper and to find out more about the stories behind these two inspiring people.

Zero Input Agriculture with Shane Simonsen

March 21st, 2022  |  Season 3  |  1 hr 2 mins

collapse, fenner conference, food security, post-growth, shane simonsen, shock octopus, sustainable population australia, zero input agriculture

With the twin horsemen of climate change and diminishing fossil fuels impacting food security (did you know that 10 calories of fossil fuel are required per calorie of food?) it is evident that the future of industrial agriculture looks more than a little grim. Given that food is critical for survival, PGAP continues to explore the essential answers to the question: how do we radically change our approach to growing food in the years to come?

Dr. Shane Simonsen operates a ‘Zero Input Agriculture’ farm in the highlands of South-East Queensland. What does zero input mean and does it work? Shane shares with PGAP how a zero input system works, in addition to weaving his vast knowledge and unique insights into a very pithy conversation with PGAP host Michael Bayliss.

Charles Massy: Making Agriculture Sustainable at the 2022 Fenner Conference

March 2nd, 2022  |  Season 3  |  43 mins 57 secs

charles massy, charlie massy, counting backwards, fenner conference 2022, fuzzy logic, regenerative farming, rod taylor, spa, sustainable agriculture, sustainable population australia

On March the 17th, a conference will be converging in Canberra called ‘Making Agriculture Sustainable’. As we all know, Australian agriculture today is largely unsustainable. Soils are degrading and are in need of regeneration and broad acre farming is delivering food in quantity but not always in quality. So this conference will include an exceptional group of speakers to address the question: Can we feed ourselves and not destroy the Earth?

One of the keynote speakers, Charles Massy, has become a household name in regenerative farming. He has a bestselling book ‘Call of the Reed Warbler: A New Agriculture’ and has been the subject of an Australian Story episode. PGAP is delighted to have Charles join us to discuss regenerative agriculture in depth and tell us more about the upcoming Fenner conference.