AUSTRALIA has the reputation of being a large land populated by a handful of
people. But just how many people can the continent support? Does Australia need
a population policy? These are two of the questions addressed by Doug
Cocks, from the CSIRO Division of Wildlife and Ecology, in People
Policy: Australia’s Population Choices (University of NSW Press,
$29.95, ISBN 0 86840 247 8). Cocks proffers a number of environmental,
economic and social arguments for stabilising Australia’s population.
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