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🤔 QUESTIONS

1. What is wellbeing?

2. What do different levels of wellbeing look like?

🔑 VOCAB

Wellbeing

Quality of life

📝 GOALS

I can analyse visual data.

I can write comparatively.

💁 WHY ARE WE LEARNING THIS?

Our world isn't fair. Learning about how privileged we are in Australia can help us appreciate what we have and act for a better future.

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Another word for wellbeing is quality of life. What factors influence our quality of life?

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If the World were a village of 100 people (2022 Edition)

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Hong Kong’s residents living in 'coffin' homes

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Using the table, describe the difference in the levels of wellbeing across these three households.

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Dollar Street - photos as data to kill country stereotypes

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Imagine the world as a street. Everyone lives on Dollar Street. The poorest to the left and the richest on the right. Every else live somewhere in between. Where would you live? Visit Dollar Street and see homes from hundreds of homes from all over the World.

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1. Using the internet, research the reasons for the level of wellbeing for each of the countries you looked at in the Dollar Street activity.

2. Write minimum half a page comparing the levels of wellbeing across the three countries, citing information from Dollar Street and the internet as evidence.

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🤔 QUESTIONS

1. What is an indicator?

2. Why is it important to look at different indicators of wellbeing?

🔑 VOCAB

Life Expectancy

GDP per capita

Happiness Index

Infant Mortality

Maternal Mortality

Suicide Rate

Employment Rate

Gini Co-efficient

📝 GOALS

I can research statistics

I can identify whether statistics are trustworthy or not

💁 WHY ARE WE LEARNING THIS?

A really big part of being an intelligent person is being able to recognise when somebody is trying to trick you into adopting their opinion. Learning about how different statistics can be used to skew people's perspective can help with this.

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Draw this table in your book (whole page).

1. Life Expectancy: The average number of years a person is expected to live based on current mortality rates.

2. GDP per Capita: The total economic output of a country divided by its population, indicating the average income per person.

3. Happiness Index: A measure that ranks countries based on the reported happiness and well-being of their citizens.

4. Infant Mortality: The number of deaths of infants under one year old per 1,000 live births in a given year.

5. Maternal Mortality: The number of deaths of women due to pregnancy-related causes per 100,000 live births in a given year.

6. Suicide Rate: The number of suicides per 100,000 people in a population within a given year.

7. Employment Rate: The percentage of the working-age population that is currently employed.

8. Gini Coefficient: A measure of income inequality within a population, ranging from 0 (perfect equality) to 1 (maximum inequality).

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1. Choose one of the following pairs of countries.

South Africa - New Zealand

Bhutan - United States

2. Research to find all the indicators we have discussed today for both countries and write them in your book. You should be able to find most of your information on the World Bank. https://data.worldbank.org/

3. Answer in a short paragraph in your book: Which country has a higher level of wellbeing? Justify your argument using evidence.

4. Which wellbeing indicator do you think best represents real quality of life?

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What might be fuelling suicide rates in South Korea?

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efore I moved to South Korea, 12 years ago, I hadn't really come across suicide in my social life. Now, every year I hear of friends, or friends of friends, taking their own lives. The recent suspected suicide of K-pop star Moonbin has focused minds yet again on this problem - one which is far from limited to the entertainment industry, but is a full-blown social crisis affecting Koreans of all ages and backgrounds. However, it is young people in particular who are bearing the brunt.

So what is going on?

Korea, after all, is a dynamic country whose global reputation is remarkably positive. It has made from the behemoth that is K-pop and its film industry, to its innovative skincare products that have revolutionised the beauty business. These achievements have solidified South Korea's reputation as a cultural powerhouse and global trendsetter.

Moonbin, a member of K-pop boy band Astro, 2021. Photograph: Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Images

Yet beneath the facade lies a mental health crisis of grave proportions. In 2021, South Korea recorded a suicide rate of 26 per 100,000 people, the highest among OECD countries. Suicide was the main cause of death for those aged 10 to 39, with 44% of teenage deaths and 56.8% of deaths of those in their 20s attributed to it. Mental illness was identified as the leading cause of suicide.

I have seen this crisis with my own eyes. Many of my closest friends have struggled with suicidal thoughts and depression. They often cite societal pressures to succeed, feelings of isolation, worthlessness and discrimination for not conforming or being different. It's a conversation that's become all too familiar and many of my peers are seeking psychological help, albeit discreetly. While more people speak openly about mental health than they used to, the topic still remains taboo and is often seen as a personal weakness or failure.

Suicide in the entertainment industry is just one manifestation of the constant pressure and stress that young people face in a hyper-competitive society. In the case of Moonbin, in a live chat just days before his passing, the singer with the group Astro said, "I've chosen this job, so I need to handle it". Police found no signs of foul play, and suspect he died by suicide.

However, the crisis is not confined to K-entertainment and there are no shortage of daily headlines about people making "extreme choices", a euphemism for ending one's life. This includes schoolchildren - factors such as academic pressure and bullying are cited as explanations.

This month, three teenagers fell to their deaths from high-rise buildings within five days of each other in Seoul's affluent Gangnam district. Although the factors at play will be complex and varied, the place is known for its high concentration of elite schools and expensive private "cram schools".

In the hope of securing bright futures for their children, many parents throw them into an intensive education system, which takes precedence over socialisation and wellbeing. This obsession stems from the highly competitive job market, where good grades and a prestigious university degree are seen as necessary for obtaining stable and well-paid employment. The result is that the vast majority of children, some as young as two, are sent to cram schools on top of regular schooling.

Here's the thing: South Korea is a deeply unhappy country. Having written a book on the topic, I've explored how South Korean culture places strong emphases on both conformity and competition, a contradiction that can generate stress, isolation, suppressed emotions, and deep dissatisfaction.

Recently, the government announced its aim to reduce the country's suicide rate by almost 30% within five years, and to shorten the gap between mandatory mental health checkups from 10 years to two.

Not all mental health treatments are covered by national insurance, which makes it difficult for people to access mental health services. Private counselling and therapy sessions can be expensive. This financial burden can be especially challenging for those who require ongoing counselling or therapy for conditions such as depression. Help centres and helplines also exist and are playing an important role, but these are mainly reactive measures to address mental health issues after they have developed.

I once tutored a seven-year-old in English. She did not get to bed until 10pm each day because of all her extra tuition and CV-embellishing activities. During my lessons, she tended to fall asleep. She was anything but happy. I felt terrible contributing to her misery, and quit.

As South Korea continues to dazzle with its outward image of perfection, the glaring paradox at home can no longer be overlooked. It's time to break the cycle of competition and conformity and create a society that values compassion and individuality. Above all, policymakers need to restore hope in citizens that South Korea is a place where they can simply be happy.

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South Korea may look perfect, but behind the facade lies a devastating suicide crisis | Raphael Rashid

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The death of a K-pop star has focused minds again on the young people struggling to cope in this hyper-competitive society, says Raphael Rashid, a Seoul-based journalist and author

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What might be fuelling suicide rates in Lesotho?

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While Africa has 6 of the 10 countries with the highest suicide rates in the world, heartbreakingly Lesotho, a country of just 2.3 million people, has the world's highest rate (age adjusted), with 87.5 deaths by suicide in every 100,000 (compared to the age unadjusted global average of 1 per 100,000). A recent story in the UK Telegraphprovides insight into the deep stigma around suicide in Lesotho that is costing lives to suicide - deaths that could be prevented.

"The depth of social, religious and cultural practices across Africa - and we see here in Lesotho - that stigmatise suicide make preventing deaths by suicide so much more difficult. And this is the real human tragedy - because these are needless deaths, these are lives that can be saved, simply by asking for help. But so many of the same social pressures that often cause suicidal distress also inhibit people from asking for help," said Professor Taiwo Lateef Sheikh, LifeLine International's African Representative, and a leading psychiatrist, and authority on suicide prevention and suicide decimalisation in Africa

"In reading this article, I was so touched by the lived experience of this young man, Lisema Pinyane, that really highlighted two things for me.

"Firstly, his bravery in sharing his story so others may understand that asking for help is OK; and secondly, the power of human connection to break the isolation and feeling of worthlessness that too often sets individuals toward a course of fatal harm.

"The simply checking in on their friend saved this young man's life, and that powerful act of humanity always reinforces my hope, that suicide, everywhere, can be prevented. And this is the role that crisis lines play - a confidential, accessible human connection in times of deepest despair," he said.

LifeLine International has 9 Members across Africa, operating crisis support services that use a range of multi-lingual telephone, voice and data services to connect counsellors with help seekers. Ideally services operate 24 hours and with toll free numbers - but this is not yet the case everywhere. With suicide rates in Africa so high, especially amongst young people and men, LifeLine International is working across the continent to expand crisis support services and to support decriminalisation campaigns in the 11 African nations where suicide remains a crime. To date there are positive signals on legal reform in Nigeria, Kenya and Malawi - countries that are a focus for LifeLine International's campaign Decimalise Suicide Worldwide.

"Suicide is not a crime in Lesotho, but the deep stigmas described in this story are further entrenched where suicide is a crime. Imagine adding on top of all the distress and despair felt by someone thinking of taking their life - the threat of jail just for asking for help. It pushes the possibility of help even further out or reach, and that is a tragedy on tragedy.

"But we know when countries decriminalise it's a powerful signal for a broad community conversation, relevant to all the specific factors in that country, to say that it is ok to ask for help. And asking for help saves lives," Professor Sheikh added.

LifeLine International applauds the Telegraph and its Global Health Security initiative for highlighting this story with sensitivity and insight and for sharing a message that there is always hope.
Read full article here To learn more about how to help to Decriminalise Suicide Worldwide read here Lifeline International Campaign page or join our social change campaign at 25crimes.org or register for national campaigns where suicide remains a crime (25 countries) or its legal status remains unclear (27 countries).

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Lesotho - looking for hope behind the highest suicide rate in the world. | LifeLine International

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While Africa has 6 of the 10 countries with the highest suicide rates in the world, heartbreakingly Lesotho, a country of just 2.3 million people, has the world's highest rate (age adjusted), with 87.5 deaths by suicide in every 100,000 (compared to the age unadjusted global average of 1 per 100,000).

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What topic would we be interested in learning further about? (VOTE)

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What topic would we be interested in learning further about? (VOTE)

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1. Uncovering Literacy in Australia: The Reading Challenge in Tasmania

2. Australia's Cost of Living Crunch: What's Behind It and Its Effect on Our Wellbeing

3. Global Housing Predicaments: Understanding the Worldwide Housing Crises

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🤔 QUESTIONS

1. What is considered 'poverty' in different places around the world?

2. Why has poverty declined globally?

3. Could China's method of pulling people out of poverty work in different places?

🔑 VOCAB

Poverty line

Agrarian

Industrial

📝 GOALS

I can read and analyse a text.

💁 WHY ARE WE LEARNING THIS?

It's kind of crazy how much poverty has reduced globally. We need to understand how we did this so we can continue the trend.

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Fact Sheet: An Adjustment to Global Poverty Lines

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As differences in price levels across the world evolve, the global poverty line has to be periodically updated to reflect these changes. Since 2015, the last update, we have used $1.90 as the global line. As of fall 2022, the new global line will be updated to $2.15.

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How do poverty lines differ around the world?

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How do poverty lines differ around the world?

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Answer in your book: How do experiences of poverty differ in Australia vs a country like Somalia?

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All the data included in this explorer is available to download in GitHub, alongside a range of other poverty and inequality metrics.

Where is this data sourced from?

This data explorer is collated and adapted from the World Bank's Poverty and Inequality Platform (PIP).

The World Bank's PIP data is a large collection of household surveys where steps have been taken by the World Bank to harmonize definitions and methods across countries and over time.

About the comparability of household surveys

There is no global survey of incomes. To understand how incomes across the world compare, researchers need to rely on available national surveys.

Such surveys are partly designed with cross-country comparability in mind, but because the surveys reflect the circumstances and priorities of individual countries at the time of the survey, there are some important differences.

Income vs expenditure surveys

One important issue is that the survey data included within the PIP database tends to measure people's income in high-income countries, and people's consumption expenditure in poorer countries.

The two concepts are closely related: the income of a household equals their consumption plus any saving, or minus any borrowing or spending out of savings.

One important difference is that, while zero consumption is not a feasible value - people with zero consumption would starve - a zero income is a feasible value. This means that, at the bottom end of the distribution, income and consumption can give quite different pictures about a person's welfare. For instance, a person dissaving in retirement may have a very low, or even zero, income, but have a high level of consumption nevertheless.

The gap between income and consumption is higher at the top of this distribution too, richer households tend to save more, meaning that the gap between income and consumption is higher at the top of this distribution too. Taken together, one implication is that inequality measured in terms of consumption is generally somewhat lower than the inequality measured in terms of income.

In our Data Explorer of this data there is the option to view only income survey data or only consumption survey data, or instead to pool the data available from both types of survey - which yields greater coverage.

Other comparability issues

There are a number of other ways in which comparability across surveys can be limited. The PIP Methodology Handbook provides a good summary of the comparability and data quality issues affecting this data and how it tries to address them.

In collating this survey data the World Bank takes a range of steps to harmonize it where possible, but comparability issues remain. These affect comparisons both across countries and within individual countries over time.

To help communicate the latter, the World Bank produces a variable that groups surveys within each individual country into more comparable 'spells'. Our Data Explorer provides the option of viewing the data with these breaks in comparability indicated, and these spells are also indicated in our data download.

Global and regional poverty estimates

Along with data for individual countries, the World Bank also provides global and regional poverty estimates which aggregate over the available country data.

Surveys are not conducted annually in every country however - coverage is generally poorer the further back in time you look, and remains particularly patchy within Sub-Saharan Africa. You can see that visualized in our chart of the number of surveys included in the World Bank data by decade.

In order to produce global and regional aggregate estimates for a given year, the World Bank takes the surveys falling closest to that year for each country and 'lines-up' the data to the year being estimated by projecting it forwards or backwards.

This lining-up is generally done on the assumption that household incomes or expenditure grow in line with the growth rates observed in national accounts data. You can read more about the interpolation methods used by the World Bank in Chapter 5 of the Poverty and Inequality Platform Methodology Handbook.

How does the data account for inflation and for differences in the cost of living across countries?

To account for inflation and price differences across countries, the World Bank's data is measured in international dollars. This is a hypothetical currency that results from price adjustments across time and place. It is defined as having the same purchasing power as one US-$ would in the United States in a given base year. One int.-$ buys the same quantity of goods and services no matter where or when it is spent.

There are many challenges to making such adjustments and they are far from perfect. Angus Deaton ( Deaton, 2010) provides a good discussion of the difficulties involved in price adjustments and how this relates to global poverty measurement.

But in a world where price differences across countries and over time are large it is important to attempt to account for these differences as well as possible, and this is what these adjustments do.

In September 2022, the World Bank updated its methodology, and now uses international-$ expressed in 2017 prices - updated from 2011 prices. This has had little effect on our overall understanding of poverty and inequality around the world. But poverty estimates for particular countries vary somewhat between the old and updated methodology. You can read more about this update in our article From $1.90 to $2.15 a day: the updated International Poverty Line.

To allow for comparisons with the official data now expressed in 2017 international-$ data, the World Bank continues to release its poverty and inequality data expressed in 2011 international-$ as well. We have built a Data Explorer to allow you to compare these, and we make all figures available in terms of both sets of prices in our data download.

Absolute vs relative poverty lines

This dataset provides poverty estimates for a range of absolute and relative poverty lines.

An absolute poverty line represents a fixed standard of living; a threshold that is held constant across time. Within the World Bank's poverty data, absolute poverty lines also aim to represent a standard of living that is fixed across countries (by converting local currencies to international-$). The International Poverty Line of $2.15 per day (in 2017 international-$) is the best known absolute poverty line and is used by the World Bank and the UN to measure extreme poverty around the world.

The value of relative poverty lines instead rises and falls as average incomes change within a given country. In most cases they are set at a certain fraction of the median income. Because of this, relative poverty can be considered a metric of inequality - it measures how spread out the bottom half of the income distribution is.

The idea behind measuring poverty in relative terms is that a person's well-being depends not on their own absolute standard of living but on how that standard compares with some reference group, or whether it enables them to participate in the norms and customs of their society. For instance, joining a friend's birthday celebration without shame might require more resources in a rich society if the norm is to go for an expensive meal out, or give costly presents.

Our dataset includes three commonly-used relative poverty lines: 40%, 50%, and 60% of the median.

Such lines are most commonly used in rich countries, and are the main way poverty is measured by the OECD and the European Union.More recently, relative poverty measures have come to be applied in a global context. The share of people living below 50 per cent of median income is, for instance, one of the UN's Sustainable Development Goal indicators. And the World Bank now produces estimates of global poverty using a Societal Poverty Line that combines absolute and relative components.

When comparing relative poverty rates around the world, however, it is important to keep in mind that - since average incomes are so far apart - such relative poverty lines relate to very different standards of living in rich and poor countries.

Does the data account for non-market income, such as food grown by subsistence farmers?

Many poor people today, as in the past, rely on subsistence farming rather than a monetary income gained from selling goods or their labor on the market. To take this into account and make a fair comparison of their living standards, the statisticians that produce these figures estimate the monetary value of their home production and add it to their income/expenditure.

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In order to make progress against poverty in the future, we need to understand poverty around the world today and how it has changed.

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Share of the Global Population living in extreme poverty

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Share of the Global Population living in extreme poverty

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How does this transition help alleviate poverty?

What are the negative impacts of this transition?

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Share of China's population in extreme poverty

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Share of China's population in extreme poverty

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How do you think China did this?

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Could the Chinese method of pulling people out of poverty work in other countries? Why/why not?

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Could the Chinese method of pulling people out of poverty work in other countries? Why/why not?

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🤔 QUESTIONS

1. What is the difference between a first and third world country?

2. Why are some countries more developed than others?

3. What is the distribution of development around the world?

🔑 VOCAB

Development

First world

Third world

📝 GOALS

I can use the PQE method.

💁 WHY ARE WE LEARNING THIS?

You need a basic understanding of how wealth is spread around the world and how it got that way. This helps you to have a better understanding of the human experience and your place in the world.

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This is an old term that is no longer preferred. It stems from the Cold War.

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Do you notice any patterns?

Why might the split between developed and developing be this way?

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How colonialism’s legacy makes it harder for countries to escape poverty 

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How colonialism’s legacy makes it harder for countries to escape poverty 

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While fossil fuels were powering wealthy nations' economic growth in the 19th and 20th centuries, many countries across the Global South remained largely impoverished.

Today, all that burning of oil, coal and natural gas has warmed the planet toward dangerous levels, and science shows that fossil fuel use must decline to slow climate change. At the same time, more than 40% of the global population survives on less than US$5.50 a day, primarily in developing countries.

Fossil fuels are still among the cheapest ways to power economic growth, making them hard for developing countries to ignore.

So, can we find a way to lift nearly half of the world out of poverty and still reduce fossil fuel use? As an environmental social scientist, I believe there can be no sustainable development, and likely no energy transition, if poverty is not addressed too. Current international efforts, like the chronically underfunded U.N. Green Climate Fund, whose board meets this week, aren't doing enough.

Shadows of colonialism

The fact that nearly half the world's population is still struggling to escape poverty while the thermometer's mercury hurtles upward is not a coincidence.

Since the Age of Discovery, when European explorers began expanding trade and claiming colonies in the 1400s, problems of resource scarcity have been managed through colonial conquest and economic integration. These approaches impoverished Global South nations, robbing them of their natural wealth. The introduction of international financial institutions after World War II further locked them into a cycle of uneven exchange.

For hundreds of years the natural resources that southern nations exported to countries like Germany and the United States have been sold at a lower cost than the finished products they import for their own consumption. The result has been development in the Global North, destabilization and impoverishment in much of the Global South and climate change for all.

Fossil fuels have been a central element in development history because they have provided a cheap, mobile source of energy. They still predominantly boost wealthy countries' growth. In 2019, the 37 nations belonging to the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development, which represents industrialized economies, still accounted for a staggering 40% of energy consumption. The remaining 60% was spread across 158 countries whose combined populations were 5.83 times as large as those of Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development nations.

Without a rapid transition to renewable energy, it is unlikely that populations outside the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development will be able to use energy as freely as others have while still keeping global temperature increases below 1.5 C (2.7 F), the goal countries set under the Paris climate agreement.

'Development is not a right'

The inequalities born of these processes make stopping the drivers of climate change a real challenge.

Southern nations rightly insist that viable climate solutions must include a realistic pathway for them to continue to develop. This resulted in three principles included in the 1992 Rio Declaration on Environment and Development: that countries have a right to development, that the development needs of developing countries should be prioritized and that nations have a "common but differentiated responsibility" to address the dual problems of global development and climate change.

The U.S. famously rejected these principles during the George H.W. Bush administration, stating that "development is not a right." That statement reflected a general concern among wealthy nations that they might be held financially responsible for ensuring the continued development of poorer nations.

The Green Climate Fund

In 2010, the recognition of ongoing injustices resulted in the creation of the Green Climate Fund.

The U.N. launched the fund with the goal that wealthy countries would voluntarily mobilize $100 billion a year to support climate projects in developing countries and help enable them to pursue their development interests. But the Green Climate Fund has never been funded at more than $9 billion a year.

While the Biden administration's pledge to provide the Green Climate Fund with $5.7 billion annually is a dramatic improvement, in my view it is still far from adequate. The wealthy G-7 nations, at their meeting in June 2021, recommitted themselves to the $100 billion goal, but that is only a statement so far.

Historically, it has been difficult to displace cheap and readily available energy sources like fossil fuels in the presence of poverty and systematized economic inequality. Instead of energy transitions, countries made energy additions. My research with Julius McGee has found that nations with greater economic inequality have used renewable energy to carry electricity to underserved populations, increasing access to electricity, but they have not reduced overall fossil fuel use.

With more support to help cover the high upfront investments, the falling costs of renewable energy could help developing countries take meaningful steps toward the eradication of poverty without relying on carbon-packed sources of energy to do so. But that alone will not be enough.

Trying to set limits in a fair way

The most effective path for allowing poorer countries to develop while the world reduces greenhouse gas emissions may be what's known as contraction and convergence.

First introduced by India in 1995, the framework is meant to encourage the adoption of policies that would lead to an overall contraction in global emissions. Wealthier nations would cut their emissions, while poorer countries could continue increasing their emissions as they build the social and economic infrastructure to lift their populations out of poverty. Eventually, poorer nations would begin to reduce their emissions as well.

Ultimately, helping poorer countries develop in sustainable ways is in the interest of wealthier populations too, because climate change will affect lives everywhere. Ignoring the glaring social inequalities of past development and current responses to climate change ensures that much of the globe's population will believe they have little choice but to lean on fossil fuels as they develop, and slowing global emissions may come far too late.

[ Get our best science, health and technology stories. Sign up for The Conversation's science newsletter.]

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How colonialism's legacy makes it harder for countries to escape poverty and fossil fuels today

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The fact that nearly half the world's population is still struggling to escape poverty while global temperatures hurtle upward is not a coincidence.

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Spatial variation in wellbeing refers to the differing levels of wellbeing experienced by people in different regions or locations. This can be influenced by a variety of factors including economic conditions, accessibility to services, education, and environmental quality.

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1. Why are countries called First and Third World?

2. What is the difference between a developed and developing country?

3. How has colonialism impacted development?

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1. How does the poverty line differ around the world?

2. What does development mean?

3. Why are some countries more developed than others?

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🤔 QUESTIONS

1. Is over population an issue?

2. How do population demographics influence the wellbeing of a country?

🔑 VOCAB

Population pyramid

📝 GOALS

I can construct and analyse a population pyramid.

💁 WHY ARE WE LEARNING THIS?

Over population is something people who know little about it LOVE to complain about. It's probably one of the most misunderstood geographical ideas. Be smarter than everyone else! Do this lesson!

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In which countries do you think overpopulation is an issue?

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In which countries do you think overpopulation is an issue?

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Australia

India

Canada

Norway

China

Nigeria

Bangladesh

New Zealand

Indonesia

What problems do over population cause to wellbeing?

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By 2050, a quarter of the world’s people will be African – this will shape our future

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By 2050, a quarter of the world’s people will be African – this will shape our future

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In 2022 the world's population will pass 8 billion. It has increased by a third in just two decades. By 2050, there will be about 9.5 billion of us on the planet, according to respected demographers. This makes recent comments by Elon Musk baffling. According to him, "the low birthrate and the rapidly declining birthrate" is " one of the biggest risks to civilisation ".

Fertility rates in Europe, North America and east Asia are generally below 2.1 births per woman, the level at which populations remain stable at constant mortality rates. The trajectory in some countries is particularly arresting. The birthrate in Italy is the lowest it has ever been in the country's history. South Korea's fertility rate has been stuck below one birth per woman for decades despite an estimated $120bn (£90bn) being spent on initiatives aimed at raising it. Japan started the century with 128 million citizens but is on course to have only 106 million by 2050. China's population will peak at 1.45 billion in 2030, but if it proves unable to raise its fertility rate, the world's most populous country could end the century with fewer than 600 million inhabitants. This is the "big risk" alluded to by Musk. The trouble is, his statement seems to imply that "civilisation" does not include Africa.

Africa remains marginalised in most western media and the imaginations of most western citizens

The populations of more than half of Africa's 54 nations will double - or more - by 2050, the product of sustained high fertility and improving mortality rates. The continent will then be home to at least 25% of the world's population, compared with less than 10% in 1950. Expansion on this scale is unprecedented: whereas the population of Asia will have multiplied by a factor of four in this timeframe, Africa's will have risen tenfold. "Chronic youthfulness", as demographer Richard Cincotta has termed it, is the result: 40% of all Africans are children under the age of 14 and in most African countries the median age is below 20.

African mothers will have about 450 million children in the 2020s. This is projected to rise to more than 550 million in the 2040s, about 40% of all children born worldwide in that decade. Overall, low or rapidly declining birthrates remain the exception rather than the rule in most of Africa. Globally, the number of births are at their highest level ever - 140 million a year - and are unlikely to fall by much in the course of the next two to three decades.

That is some bow wave underpinning future population growth, for good or ill (or both). With continuing high fertility in east, west and central Africa, the continent will contribute 1.3 billion of the 2 billion increase in the global population between 2019 and 2050. By then, the populations of east and west Africa will each exceed that of Europe. Thereafter, Africa's varied demography will be one of the principal determinants of whether the global population will peak in the second half of the 21st century or continue growing, a vexed and contested issue with added significance in the age of the climate crisis.

Elon Musk's population implosion narrative is not original. It echoes that of Dr HB McKlveen, warning of the "depopulation of civilised nations" in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 1895; and that of many western economists in the 1930s, John Maynard Keynes among them. More than 50 years after the publication of Paul Ehrlich's bestselling The Population Bomb, explosion narratives also burst forth at regular intervals. To date, human adaptability and resilience have overcome demographic crises (such as the Black Death in the 14th century), and periodic alarmism. This is not intended to sound complacent or Panglossian, merely to caution that alarmist narratives are invariably touted for ideological or some other specific reasons. Beyond two or three decades, demographic futurology is fraught with pitfalls, although not nearly as hazardous as medium- and long-term economic or weather forecasting.

The omission of African demography from Musk's pronouncement is symptomatic of colossal shortcomings in the understanding of Africa and its constituent countries in the west. African delegations are bit-part players at global gatherings like Cop26, despite the ramifications of the climate crisis for the continent (and its potential for countering deleterious effects). Western governments have been slow to cooperate with African counterparts in the battle to contain Covid-19, and have done woefully little by way of assistance. Africa remains fundamentally marginalised, including in stereotypical depictions in most western media and the imaginations of most western citizens. This lamentable state of affairs cannot - will not - endure.

Sheer weight of numbers must bring about a reimagining of African countries and their populations. This alone will impact geopolitics, global trade, technological development, the future of the world's dominant religions, patterns of migration - almost every aspect of life. More widespread familiarity with the continent's diverse demographic characteristics and trajectories is a good entry point to this reimagining. Oh, and it might also help to be ever-cognisant of the fact that the landmasses of China, the US, Europe, India and Japan can all fit inside this continent that will loom ever-larger in the lives of its neighbours and the world.
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By 2050, a quarter of the world's people will be African - this will shape our future | Edward Paice

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Africa's unprecedented population growth will impact geopolitics, global trade, migration and almost every aspect of life. It's time for a reimagining of the continent

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Why you shouldn’t obsess about “overpopulation”

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Why you shouldn’t obsess about “overpopulation”

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This story is part of a group of stories called

Outside contributors' opinions and analysis of the most important issues in politics, science, and culture.

In response to a Vox column of mine suggesting that the United States needed a pro-population growth agenda, many readers from across the political spectrum responded by raising fears about overpopulation.

Clearly, fear of overpopulation is widespread.

But the truth is that overpopulation in the United States is not even close to a serious problem. Even globally, overpopulation is an overstated problem.

It's simplest to start with just the United States. How many people can the country support? Because I am an agricultural economist by profession, my bias is to first think about food. One simple question is how many people can the United States feed? Well, our net agricultural exports account for about 25 percent of the physical volume of agricultural production, which suggests that if we redirected those exports internally, the US could probably support approximately 25 percent more people. That's assuming current technology and current diets and current land use.

In short, we could feed more than 400 million people, total, merely by consuming locally what we now export.

If you assume that a growing population induces more land to be shifted to food production (because farming becomes more profitable), that food imports can rise, and that agricultural innovation continues apace, it becomes clear that our land can physically support even more people than that - I estimate as much as double our current population. And given that agricultural yields are far lower in the developing world today than in the United States, thanks to the much lower level of technological advancement and managerial expertise in those countries, the truth is that the rest of the world has plenty of potential for increased food production: more than enough to feed itself and provide imports for a more populous United States. Merely tweaking foreign land use rules could unlock large gains in agricultural production.

I also approach this problem as a regional economist specializing in migration, so I also think of the American population issue through the lens of population density comparisons. Consider that the European Union has approximately 300 people per square mile, making it as dense as the ninth-densest US state (that is, similar to Pennsylvania or Florida). The continental United States on the whole has about 110 people per square mile (excluding Alaska, an outlier), making the US less than one-third as densely peopled as the EU. Yet the European Union, too, has roughly balanced or even slightly positive agricultural trade. That suggests that Europe, too, has no trouble feeding itself despite being three times as densely settled as the United States.

If the continental United States were as heavily settled as the EU, the US would have nearly a billion people living in it. Granted, the Western US is extremely dry and thus might not support an EU-density population. (Again, I assume we aren't going to populate remote Alaska.) Nonetheless, if just the states east of the Mississippi had European-style population density, and the other states maintained current population, then the United States would still have more than 400 million people.

Every time I show Americans these calculations, they respond with surprise, but the truth is that getting European-style densities wouldn't require technological change. It wouldn't even require any non-voluntary lifestyle changes or new regulations: Simple deregulation of the housing industry would do the trick. Reducing parking requirements for new apartment buildings, removing height limits, altering restrictive lot sizes (namely lot minimums), and generally just allowing landowners to build freely on their property would greatly reduce the cost of living and boost population growth and density. It would prompt Americans to move to denser areas while also lowering housing prices and easing family budgets - which would itself increase fertility. (Recall that many American families wish they could afford more children.)

Population growth is the least influential part of the climate change calculation

The concern with overpopulation, naturally, often dovetails with concerns about climate change. Won't higher population devastate the environment? We can answer that question fairly easily, making use of forecasts of population, GDP per capita, and emissions intensity per dollar by country. We can come up with some scenarios and then compare them to estimates of emissions needed to keep global warming manageable.

I show a daunting number of scenarios above, but they're color-coded to make following them easier. The greenish lines show emissions under different population scenarios. The most steeply climbing line assumes only a modest decline in global fertility rates, while the lowest (green) scenario assumes a very rapid decline in total fertility rates - frankly, an unattainable decline.

The teal line assumes that fertility rates in every country go directly to replacement rate in 2016 (down for most poor countries, up for rich ones), and stay there. The central green line assumes fertility declines in the future following the historic trend. As you can see from these crude extrapolations, fertility rates do have substantial long-run effects on emissions.

But note those two gray lines. They're important: They show where emissions need to go in order to prevent sharp rises in global temperatures. The paler of the two shows emissions required for less than 2 degree Celsius increase, broadly seen as the benchmark for a "serious" global warming solution. The darker gray line would get us down to a 2.5 to 2.7 degree increase, which is more or less what the Paris climate agreement committed participating countries to strive for. No amount of population control achieves those goals.

One challenge is that lower fertility leads to higher consumption and economic output

One complication is that fertility decline tends to increase GDP per capita, as families invest more in human capital for each child. What happens if GDP growth is much faster than in my baseline scenario? That sharply rising purple line shows emissions if we retain baseline fertility but global GDP per capita rises to $100,000 real dollars. (It is under $12,000 today.) The much lower pink line shows what happens if we retain current fertility but global GDP per capita peaks in 2050 at about $20,000, then declines. Emissions are much lower, but they're still far above the levels necessary to prevent extreme warming.

Finally, the red and orange lines show different assumptions about technology and society. The red line assumes that the amount of CO2 it takes to produce $1 of GDP declines much slower than it has in the past 25 years. The orange line assumes it declines substantially faster. Achieving either scenario requires a global economy that is substantially less dependent on fossil fuels than it is today in either case, but reaching the most optimistic scenario requires a near-total elimination of fossil fuel power generation on developed countries (as France has done, with its commitment to nuclear power).

Either scenario is technologically possible, though we would need big breakthroughs in cost-effectiveness of alternative energy for the best-case outcomes. But compared to the "cost" involved, these tech and social measures have the biggest bang.

But unfortunately, even if we combine lower fertility, more efficient technology, and lower economic growth (the brown line), by the 2030s we are once again overshooting necessary emissions. In other words, this entire exercise is hopeless within current technological constraints. The only hope for the climate is a quantum-leap breakthrough in carbon efficiency - beyond what we observe in even very carbon-efficient economies. Fertility on its own won't make a serious dent.

And it gets worse: Fertility declines may offset themselves even when couples have zero children. An American couple that forgoes a child might take an extra vacation, say, a road trip across Peru - burning extra fossil fuel for airfares and extra driving. The couple's plane ticket alone to Peru would produce between 3 and 7 metric-ton equivalents of CO2. Add in the couple's double consumption of housing (their home is vacant while they travel), their increase in driving (it's a road trip), their increase in eating and other consumption (it's vacation, after all), and that single vacation has about the same carbon impact as a baby in its first year (some 10 tons of carbon, let's estimate).

Because of this higher-intensity consumption by childless couples, while lower fertility could reduce long-run emissions, it probably has no net impact on short-run emissions - or even increases them. And short-run emissions have the largest impact on future temperatures (because there is a time delay between carbon emissions and climate impact).

Concerns about population growth are especially irrelevant in low-growth countries like the US

But this is all moot when considering the United States! The US has lower carbon intensity per dollar of GDP than average for the world, and US population growth is an extremely small component of global emissions forecasts. And since US population and GDP growth are already extremely low in comparison to the rest of the world, marginally raising fertility will have an infinitesimally small impact on the growth path of carbon emissions. Virtually the entire determinative calculation for future carbon emissions can be summed up in the pace of shifts away from fossil fuels in the largest economies, and the population and economic growth trajectories in developing countries.

As you can see, even if US population stopped growing at around 325 million people in 2017 and flatlined out, it would produce at best a marginal change in global emissions. Plus, accomplishing that trend would require draconian anti-fertility policies and extremely strict immigration laws. On the other hand, even if US population rises over 500 million people, the impact on the world is barely noticeable. Meanwhile, lowering US carbon intensity by about a third, to around the level of manufacturing-superpower Germany today, has a bigger effect than preventing 100 million Americans from existing.

Now, obviously, we should provide the resources for women to take ownership of their fertility: We should want to reduce undesired conceptions and increase desired conceptions. We should facilitate the kind of human development that tends to reduce desired fertility from the four- to seven-child range to the two- to four-child range as well. But we should do these things because it is morally good to empower individual decision-making, not because we can save the climate through Malthusian reductions.

There is only one way to effectively prevent, alleviate, or reverse dangerous climate change: technological, geographic, and social advancement. Population has little to do with it - especially not in the US.
Lyman Stone, a Vox columnist, is a regional population economics researcher who blogs at . He is also an agricultural economist at USDA. Find him on Twitter .
The Big Idea is Vox's home for smart discussion of the most important issues and ideas in politics, science, and culture - typically by outside contributors. If you have an idea for a piece, pitch us at thebigidea@vox.com.

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Why you shouldn't obsess about "overpopulation"

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Outside contributors' opinions and analysis of the most important issues in politics, science, and culture. In response to a Vox column of mine suggesting that the United States needed a pro-population growth agenda, many readers from across the political spectrum responded by raising fears about overpopulation. Clearly, fear of overpopulation is widespread.

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Australia is ranked 192nd

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In a few sentences, compare population density in Australia vs Europe.

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Why do Australians complain about overpopulation when we are one of the least densely populated countries in the world?

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Why do Australians complain about overpopulation when we are one of the least densely populated countries in the world?

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Australia is one of the least densely populated nations in the world and yet, according to the Australia Talks National Survey 2021, 35 per cent of Australians say the population is getting too big for the country to handle.

Those living outside inner-metro areas, including regional and rural residents, are most likely to agree.

More stories from Life Matters:

Some of their concerns about a booming population, particularly in cities, centre on the environmental impact of population density.

But that's the wrong way to look at it, according to Tim Soutphommasane, sociology and political theory professor at the University of Sydney.

"Some of the greenest cities in the world are much denser than what our cities at the moment are," he tells ABC RN's Life Matters.

He points out that low-density cities like Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane are less sustainable as a consequence of urban sprawl.

"Right now, we have cities that are not fit ... for purpose when we're talking about adjusting to things like climate change," Professor Soutphommasane says.

"Having denser populations, which compress people into a smaller space, can actually make a positive contribution to some of the environmental problems."

With ABS forecasts suggesting the Australian population could double by 2066, denser cities are inevitable. So how can we make sure we get them right?

How dense should our cities be?

Experts say Australia is more than capable of shouldering this population boom - if we get the planning right.

"Australian cities have an average density of 15 dwellings per hectare of land," Professor Billie Giles-Corti, from RMIT University's Centre for Urban Research, says.

"By international standards, that's extraordinarily low. We have some of the lowest densities globally and some of the biggest houses. This is not sustainable," she says.

Thami Croeser, also from the Centre for Urban Research, agrees. He calls for a "consistently medium" approach to urban planning.

"Many people feel that we are already too big because of their experience of cities: congestion, crowded footpaths, unattractive high-rise developments and expensive property," he says.

"They are right to be upset but the problem is not crowding or growth - it's that we're managing it really poorly in our cities. The challenge is to manage the [population] better."

Mr Croeser says we still have a way to go.

Melbourne, for example, "has put massive amounts of high-rise density in the middle of the city and almost none elsewhere. Our suburbs are very spread out and often heavily car-dependent", he says.

Suburban sprawl is bad news for the environment because of increased car emissions.

"When land use is this spread out, services are sparse and public transport isn't often in easy walking distance," Mr Croeser says.

He says vehicle transport is one of Australia's biggest sources of greenhouse gas emissions.

"The challenge is to get it much more evenly spread because even just three or four-storey developments, when spread consistently across large parts of a city, can provide impressive amounts of accommodation and make it much easier to support public transport," he says.

What is the 'right' density?

"The good news is that denser cities can be very pleasant," Mr Croeser says.

He points to some European cities as good examples.

"Many of the places Australians go for holidays are much denser than Melbourne. Paris is about five times as dense and Barcelona is nearly four."

Elements of liveable density

Here's what Professor Giles-Corti and Mr Croeser recommend for sustainably dense cities:

Mid-rise developments with access to solar energy

Larger, more flexible apartments that can accommodate growing families

Designs that address noise reduction and thermal comfort

Offices and shops at ground level

Plenty of green and recreational spaces

Age-appropriate communal areas within developments

"We need to put the right density in the right places," Professor Giles-Corti adds.

These communal areas, including playgrounds, outdoor dining and sports facilities, are also important to combat another consequence of "bad density" - loneliness, says Professor Giles-Corti.

"Developers also need to think about opportunities for selective interaction."

Mr Croeser agrees.

"If we have buzzing public spaces that are inviting for people to spend time in, we give people a chance to have encounters with their fellow citizens," he says.

"This doesn't mean that we should all live in apartments," says Professor Giles-Corti, "but rather [in] a mix of concentrated well-designed housing, what I like to call delightful, liveable density."
The Australia Talks National Survey asked 60,000 Australians about their lives and what keeps them up at night. Use our interactive tool to see the results and how your answers compare. Then tune in at 8:00pm on Monday June 21 to watch hosts Annabel Crabb and Nazeem Hussain take you through the key findings and explore the survey with some of Australia's best-loved celebrities.
RN in your inbox

Get more stories that go beyond the news cycle with our weekly newsletter.

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Australian cities are not fit for purpose, say these experts. So how do we get them right?

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Big cities might make you think big environmental impact. But what if bigger could also mean greener? First, we'd have to get these things right.

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Do you think overpopulation is a global issue? Explain why/why not in your book in 5 minutes.

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Do you think overpopulation is a global issue? Explain why/why not in your book in 5 minutes.

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A population pyramid displays the age and gender of a country's population.

How might the age of a country's population impact it's development?

Expanding - Large youth populations can provide lots of workers. If the population is educated properly, this can lead to a lot of economic output. If not, it can cause high unemployment and a strain on infrastructure and services.

Stationary - This is a sweet spot. There is a balanced workforce of young people replacing retirees.

Contracting - The workforce is shrinking and the burden of taking care of aged peoplel is higher. Leads to economic stagnation.

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What type of population pyramid is Australia?

ACTIVITY: Create 2 population pyramids - one for Japan and one for Somalia.

1. Draw the horizontal and vertical axis for your pyramid pyramid.

2. Label each axis.

3. Draw each of the bars to the correct value.

ANALYSIS:

1. Identify what type of population pyramid each country is.

2. In a paragraph, compare population pyramids of Australia, Japan and Nigeria. Ensure you include what type of population pyramid they have, reasons it might be this way and how it may impact the country.

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🤔 QUESTIONS

1. Why do housing crises happen?

2. How does housing insecurity affect wellbeing?

🔑 VOCAB

Supply and demand

📝 GOALS

I can research effectively.

💁 WHY ARE WE LEARNING THIS?

Because Busselton is in the throngs of this crisis and we deserve better. You deserve to know why we are in this situation.

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Your task for today is to create a 'Housing Crisis for Dummies' visual to be used in Year 7/8 Geography & Economics. This can be a poster, video, etc, made on Canva or Powerpoint.

Your 'Housing Crises for Dummies' will have to answer the following questions:

1. Why are we in a housing crisis?

2. What areas/groups of people is it affecting most?

3. How does Australia's housing crisis compare to other countries?

STEPS

1. Browse the links on today's Padlet to familiarise yourself with the situation.

2. Do further research on any gaps in your knowledge.

3. Create the visual. Make it look appealing and easy to understand for Year 7/8 students.

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We asked Australians how they feel about cost-of-living measures in the federal budget. Many are in despair

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We asked Australians how they feel about cost-of-living measures in the federal budget. Many are in despair

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It was billed as the cost-of-living budget.

When Treasurer Jim Chalmers stepped up this week to unveil his government's economic plan for the year ahead, he described a responsible budget that "helps people under pressure today".

Among the top-line budget measures aimed at easing cost-of-living pressures are the reworked stage three tax cuts, a $300 energy bill rebate for each household, an increase to Commonwealth Rental Assistance payments and a freeze on co-payments for medicines on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS).

But how does that sit with everyday Australians, an estimated 3.3 million of whom are living below the poverty line?

We asked for your thoughts on how this budget measures up.

Among thousands of submissions, there's an overwhelming sense of despair.

Some on the brink of survival said rental assistance was still not enough to get them off the street.

People living in public housing on disability support pensions shared how rising costs have forced them to forego medical treatment, while others desperate to reduce electricity bills are turning off their heating or showering just once a week.

Many explain they cannot afford to eat three meals a day. Some people are feeling so distressed that they have thoughts of suicide.

Others who are getting by reached out to the ABC wishing to donate their $300 energy rebate, or offering spare rooms to people who are homeless.

These are just some of their stories.

Homeless job seekers and pensioners feel they're 'slipping through the cracks'

Sally*, who is in her 50s, has been living out of her van for seven years, and describes the increase to rental assistance as utterly inadequate.

"I'm on the Job Seeker payment. I've been looking for work for quite a long time and trying to establish an online business. I'm only just barely scraping through managing to eat and live in my van," she said.

"The increase on what is already an inadequate payment is not going to make any difference to my situation whatsoever."

If you or anyone you know needs help:

Rent assistance, which is an additional payment available for some people on government support, is calculated depending on living circumstances and how much you pay in rent.

For a single person like Sally, if you're paying more than $146 per fortnight in rent, you're entitled to 75 cents for every dollar over that amount. The maximum fortnightly payment for a single person living alone is $188.20, or $125.47 if they're in a share house.

The increase announced this week means the maximum rate will go up by 10 per cent from September 20 this year - so about $12 to $19 a fortnight in Sally's case, if she could find a rental.

In Perth, where Sally lives, the median weekly rent has exceeded $650 - $1,300 per fortnight. She estimates that moving into shared accommodation would cost around $200 per week - $400 per fortnight.

She currently budgets $100 a fortnight to keep her few possessions that don't fit in the van in storage, on top of the rest of her day-to-day living costs.

"I've got zero capacity, even with a rent assistance payment, to meet $400 a fortnight [in rent]," she said.

"I've had to borrow money this fortnight to make ends meet, to pay for my motor vehicle insurance and to make sure I've got roadside assistance. Because if I don't have those things, then I lose, literally, the only shelter that I've got."

Tori Norton, 65, is on a disability support pension and renting with her rescue cat in regional New South Wales.

She spends roughly two-thirds of her $1,200pension to rent an accessible property, which she requires for her disability.

She says the federal budget has left her feeling "angry and bitterly disappointed".

If her rent increases, she said, even by 10 per cent, then she won't be able to afford her groceries.

"It's at the point where other friends of mine who are pensioners get so excited just when they can buy mince to make Bolognese," Tori said.

"Honestly! This is what we discuss - how exciting it is when you can afford to make a Bolognese."

She's worried that soon she won't be able to afford to care for her cat, Abby, who has been "such a blessing".

Like Tori, Sally says she would have liked to have seen a significant increase to rent assistance, in conjunction with another increase to the Job Seeker payment, which is currently set at a maximum of $816.90 ($408.45 per week) for a single person over 55 in Sally's situation.

This budget did include $41.2 million over five years to extend that higher rate to single JobSeekers who are able to work up to 14 hours a week, but welfare advocacy groups have said this falls well short of what is needed.

The Australian Council of Social Service described the decision not to increase Job Seeker and Youth Allowance base rates as "a gaping hole at the heart of this budget".

"Maybe there could have been provisions for people who are actually living in the streets," Sally said. "I don't know. How do you balance everything out? It just feels like I'm one of the people that just keeps slipping through the cracks."

Younger Australians say budget measures won't make much of a dent

Melbourne law student Celia, 27, is completing her final year of a juris doctor and says the cost of living crisis will weigh her and her peers down for years to come.

While studying full-time and working in the legal sector part-time, Celia receives Youth Allowance to supplement her income and a scholarship contributes to her education, but she says it's barely enough to cover rent and groceries each fortnight.

"I am able to pay rent, purchase bare minimum groceries, and pay for public transport, petrol, things of that nature. But like everything else has been cut out," she said.

"I'm coming away with very little money, in comparison to the way that my HECS debt is increasing."

And in the meantime, she's about to reach the HECS-HELP loan limit, which means she'll soon have to start paying for her degree outright.

The recent changes to HECS-HELP debt, which will see loan indexation calculated on whichever figure is lower out of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the Wage Price Index (WPI), will save hundreds of dollars for an estimated three million Australians.

This will apply to Celia's existing debt, which is around $100,000, but she says in the grand scheme it won't make much of a dent.

"I'll get about $5,000 back," she said. "Unfortunately, that doesn't really do anything for me, because each unit that I do at uni is about $5,000."

Celia was pleased to see relief targeted towards other students to address placement poverty, but she feels that the rising cost of education and combined loan limits introduced under the Coalition in 2020 make the prospect of future students pursuing post-graduate studies "extremely grim".

"I don't think it really gets to the root of the problem, which is the fact that we are paying just ridiculous amounts of money for degrees that people my parents' age didn't have to pay for, that we kind of need to have ... if we want to be a high-income earner," she said.

People are choosing to skip medical treatment because they can't afford it

Darren Miner lives with his partner in Oberon, New South Wales. They are both on the Disability Support Pension, and his partner also accesses the NDIS.

He says while they are fortunate to be in public housing and somewhat protected from the rental crisis, they really feel the pinch when it comes to medical costs.

"Our GP, fortunately, bulk-bills people on pensions. But we have both foregone specialist appointments just because of the cost," he said.

"A number of them refuse to bulk-bill, even if you're on a pension. But it's also just the requirement to have the full fee, up front ... For example, for me to see the lung specialist is $300. I get $250 back on Medicare. So I can afford that $50 gap, but I don't have that $300 in the first place."

Darren also deals with mental health issues, but is currently not receiving any treatment due to the costs.

"I can't afford it, even under a mental health care plan, which only covers [an initial] 10 sessions per year ... And good luck seeing a decent psychiatrist in the public health system," he said.

Tori, who previously worked as a mental health nurse for 25 years, says she understands the nuance of setting up a system to provide this kind of care.

And while she was debt-free when she was working, she has been forced to take out a credit card to pay for health-related expenses.

"I was at an appointment the other day and I got teary because the specialist told me they were going to bulk-bill my appointment, which usually would have cost me over $600," she said.

Both Tori and Darren say they will get some relief from the freeze for medicines listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. The maximum co-payment for concession card holders will be held at its current rate of $7.70 for five years.

While the budget did include $227.6 million over the next few years to address the disability employment program, Darren says this measure won't help him much as a carer with limited hours available to work.

He says the biggest concern he has about the budget is the changes to the NDIS, which he believes will affect his partner's plan.

In a bid to rein in the ballooning cost of the NDIS, there will be changes to address what the government calls "intra-plan inflation", where participants can access top-up payments if the agreed plan is spent sooner than expected.

"It means if my partner goes over her allocated amount for a service, within her plan, that means she'll miss out on services, and that can be for a long time if she is underfunded right from the get-go," Darren said.

"She's got $157 remaining in her care plan until September. That's basically one hour, or half an hour worth of help. As it currently sits ... if they go a little bit over they're not going to cut services. But from what I'm reading in the budget, that's going to stop.

"What if I end up hospitalised and she needs a week or two of help, and that money's run out?"

Finding cheap housing is a struggle

Anne James, 83, has given up on waiting for a spot in social housing after she was advised it would take another five to 10 years for a place to free up.

She was renting a small unit in Wangaratta during the height of the COVID pandemic when her rent went up by $80 a fortnight - out of reach for her income as an aged pensioner.

"That is an impossible thing, for me to live like that. So since then, I did apply for housing commission. It's nearly two years now, and when I inquired about it quite recently ... they said it could be five to 10 years. I said, 'Well, that's a great joke, isn't it?... I'll be 94," she said.

No longer able to afford her rent, Anne has been house-sitting for the past two years.

"I don't want to do that forever. My children, they've got my stuff in storage and they would never see me on the street. But that is not the point. I have worked here 45 years, bringing up eight good Australians, and still I have trouble to get social housing. I am on the list, but there's so many waiting, it's impossible."

Ally Oliver-Perham is a working parent living in Chewton Bushlands in regional Victoria.

"We can be pretty frugal at times. And so we're able to budget well, but I have to say there have been moments where I've hesitated to fill the car up with petrol. That's probably the main cost that we are really struggling with at the moment," she said.

Ally says the rising cost of fuel means she and her partner can only budget for limited trips to Melbourne for work and to visit family and friends.

"You do hesitate, because you think, 'well, this is going to affect my ability to buy the groceries I need down the track?'" she said.

Their other main financial pressure is childcare costs for their two-year-old daughter. Ally says she was hoping to see more action around childcare rebates in this budget.

"I try not to think about how much we're spending on that, because it will impact my enjoyment with being at work and providing. But it's certainly making us consider, do we go out? Do we go to that social event? Do we spend money on these more recreational things?"

Her family won't have access to the $300 energy bill rebate as their property is off the grid.

"Obviously that's a personal choice - we want to make a positive contribution to climate change and this is how we're doing it. But there's all these costs associated with that," she said.

"I was curious about the fact that it wasn't means tested ... because I know it's only $300, which is going to be really meaningful for someone who's really struggling. But I don't understand why some households who are quite well off are getting the same amount of money. I just thought that was a strange way of approaching this cost-of-living crisis."

The energy bill rebate won't help everyone

The energy bill relief measure has been criticised this week by welfare advocacy groups who point out that financially vulnerable Australians actually stand to be worse off under the policy in the long run.

This news was a worry for Darren and his partner, who both receive the Disability Support Pension, which increases twice a year in line with headline CPI or the Pensioner and Beneficiary Living Cost Index (whichever is higher).

The concern is that if the energy bill relief scheme lowers inflation, as the government predicts it will, that could mean their support payments rise by less.

"The budget leaves us worse off, overall," Darren said.

"With the overall cost of living, especially in terms of food, especially in terms of medical, we are going backwards, not forwards."

For Sally, living in her van, limited access to power is a barrier to generating income. She lives with chronic fatigue syndrome and other disabilities that make full-time work very difficult, so she's been trying to establish an online business.

One of the budget's key measures to support small businesses was a $325 energy relief rebate, but Sally can't access it because she doesn't have an electricity bill.

"Because my small business is online-based, it's a no-brainer for me, I can do that. But I don't have regular access to electricity supply to keep my devices running, which means that is an ongoing barrier to my success," she said.

"I've tried working out of the libraries. But very often ... I get sick, so I can't work for a few days or a couple of weeks. I can't work out of cafes because I don't have the money to pay for the coffee all day. So I've looked at hot desks, that's $80 a day. Everything is a barrier.

"I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place every way I turn. I don't know what else to do."
*Sally's name has been changed to protect her privacy.

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What happens when the money runs out? Australians share their thoughts on the 'cost-of-living' budget

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We asked Australians for their thoughts on cost-of-living measures unveiled in the federal budget. Among thousands of submissions, there's an overwhelming sense of despair.

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The Albanese government knows Australia has a housing problem.

It says the country is suffering from "historic underinvestment" in housing that's created a significant supply shortage.

In its 2024-25 budget, it has dedicated an entire chapter to the crisis - a sign of how seriously the issue is considered.

"Australia's housing system has been unable to build enough new housing stock to keep up with the needs of our population," it warns.

"This has caused a growing supply deficit, resulting in worsening affordability for both renters and first-home buyers."

In the special housing chapter, Treasury officials have illustrated the problem with more than 20 graphs.

Here are 10 of the most illuminating ones.

They help to explain why the government will spend $1.9 billion to increase Commonwealth Rent Assistance in coming years. It knows how much pressure the private rental market is putting on low income households.

Australia's housing supply is low by international standards

The government has pointed out that Australia has fewer dwellings per 1,000 people than the OECD average.

According to the OECD, Australia's level of housing supply was 420 per 1,000 people in 2022.

That lags behind comparable countries such as Canada, the US and the UK (England) - which are all below the OECD average too.

A lack of supply is making it harder for people to buy or rent

Treasury officials say the shortage of housing stock has been making it more difficult to find a property to buy or rent.

The number of homes being offered for sale in Australia has fallen since 2015, and the number of homes for rent has been falling since early 2020.

It has seen the rental vacancy rate fall below 1.5 per cent - and 3 per cent is considered the rate that reflects a "balanced" rental market.

That refers to a situation in which there is modest growth in rents, and where landlords and tenants have similar bargaining power.

In some parts of Australia, including in some capital cities, the rental vacancy rate has even declined to as low as 0.5 per cent.

Supply shortages contribute to affordability pressures

Australia's housing system hasn't been able to build enough new housing stock to keep up with the needs of its population.

Our population has been growing too quickly in recent years, and, when coupled with changes in peoples' housing preferences, it has resulted in worsening affordability for renters and first-home buyers.

Given the lag in housing supply responding to those changes, it's contributed to rising house prices and worsening affordability.

Nominal dwelling prices and advertised rents have more than doubled since the mid-2000s.

As a consequence of those price pressures, a growing share of household incomes has been going towards housing and housing services.

Treasury officials say, for prospective home-buyers, the portion of income needed to service a new loan has jumped from an average of 29 per cent in 2020 to 46 per cent in 2023.

That's well above the long-run average of 35.7 per cent and above the 30 per cent threshold for mortgage stress.

Long-term decline in affordability

In early 2002, the median house price was 4.9 times the median gross disposable household income.

In early 2024, this had increased to 8.6 times.

It's also taking Australians much longer to save for a deposit. In early 2002, it took less than seven years to save a 20 per cent deposit. But now it's taking 11.4 years.

"These factors have contributed to declining rates of home ownership over time, and more people are now renting," the budget says.

Investment by governments in social housing has declined over decades

In addition to low levels of housing stock, rates of construction of social housing (which includes both public and community housing) have been falling for decades.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) defines public housing as rental housing that state and territory governments provide and manage.

It is a subset of social housing.

Social housing is rental housing fully or partly funded by government, owned or managed by community organisations or governments, and includes public housing, state owned and managed Indigenous housing, community housing and Indigenous community housing.

The government says public housing completion and the share of social housing stock as a proportion of the total stock has declined for the past three decades.

Since 1996, the level of social housing construction has not been enough to keep pace with sales and demolitions of existing social housing stock.

So what's the government doing about it?

Since winning the 2022 election, the government has made nearly $26 billion in commitments to the housing problem.

In last night's budget, it added another $6.2 billion in new commitments to the cause.

However, since the vast bulk of initiatives have previously been announced and set-in-motion, a number of last night's announcements referred to additional funding to pre-existing initiatives.
New commitments in the 2024-25 budget:

An extra $1 billion to states and territories to the Housing Support Program to help state and territory governments build "enabling infrastructure" for new housing- to connect essential services such as water, power, sewerage and roads. This investment expands on the $500 million already committed.

$1.9 billion to increase the maximum rates of Commonwealth Rent Assistance by a further 10 per cent to alleviate rental stress (over five years from 2023-24). This will have an ongoing cost.

$88.8 million for 20,000 new fee-free TAFE places (over three years from 2024-25), which includes increased access to pre-apprenticeship programs, in courses relevant to the construction sector.

An additional $1.9 billion in concessional loans to community housing providers and other charities to support delivery of new social and affordable homes under the Housing Australia Future Fund and National Housing Accord.

Allow foreign investors to purchase established Build to Rent developments with a lower foreign investment fee, conditional on the property continuing to be operated as a Build to Rent development.

$423m in additional funding (over five years from 2024-25) to the National Agreement on Social Housing and Homelessness to boost support for social housing and homelessness services.

Those measures will complement the well-publicised "target" to build 1.2 million new, well-located homes over five years, starting from 1 July 2024.

Tertiary education sector needs to do its part

And finally, the government says the tertiary education sector is very important for Australia's economy but the number of students it is bringing into the country is putting pressure on the private rental market.

Therefore, it says it will work with universities to increase the availability of student housing by limiting international student enrolments based on factors including how much student accommodation universities can provide.

That will cost $2.1 million over four years from 2024-25.

"To deliver more accommodation for students and to reduce pressure on the private rental market, the government will work with the higher education sector to develop regulations that will require universities to increase their supply of student accommodation," the budget says.

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Australia's housing crisis in 10 graphs, from the federal budget

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The Albanese government dedicated a special chapter in its budget to Australia's housing crisis, and it used these graphs to illustrate the problem.

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Capes councils could combine forces to tackle illegal camping and overflow

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Capes councils could combine forces to tackle illegal camping and overflow

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The Shire of Augusta-Margaret River and City of Busselton could join forces to investigate possible solutions to the region's increasing illegal camping.

The issue was a hot button topic during summer as residents reported an increase in illegal camping, creating a big jump in rangers' workload.

The shire has invited Busselton to be part of a working group despite their different experiences with the issue.

The proposed group's options include finding one or more sites where "itinerant" travellers could be offered basic lodgings to avoid backpackers and van tourists clogging popular spots and camping illegally at beaches.

Augusta-Margaret River shire president Julia Meldrum said it was important members of the group worked together to provide options before next summer.

The Busselton council is yet to decide if it will support the venture.

A city spokesperson told the Times the agenda for its next meeting would be finalised today, May 3.

"Should a motion be forthcoming, this would then be considered at the next ordinary council meeting on May 15," they said.

Earlier this year, the city said rangers were taking an educational approach.

Despite an observed increase in illegal camping at coastal spots, an increase in homelessness and workers without housing meant it was being treated with compassion.

Residents have already called for a permanent seasonal solution for camper overflow, not just from annoyance at travellers but to provide duty of care and basic amenities for visitors as well as travellers arriving without booked accommodation.

The proposal from Ms Meldrum for a working group said a similar group focused on campers and vineyard workers lapsed in 2013.

While her proposal recommended identifying an overflow facility as a priority, it noted costs and challenges as well as the risk of competing with established campgrounds.

A final report is expected in September.

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Capes councils could combine in camping taskforce

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The Shire of Augusta-Margaret River and City of Busselton could join forces to investigate possible solutions to the region's increasing illegal camping.

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Initiatives released to address Busselton housing and worker shortage

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Initiatives released to address Busselton housing and worker shortage

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230 homeless people and 5000 unoccupied homes: City addresses housing shortage

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A list of initiatives to address the significant housing shortage in Busselton has been released as the City...

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🤔 QUESTIONS

1. How does wellbeing differ across Australia?

2. Why do these differences exist?

🔑 VOCAB

Urban

Rural

Regional

Remote

📝 GOALS

I can use the PQE method.

💁 WHY ARE WE LEARNING THIS?

Similar to our first lesson, it's important to recognise the privilege we have compared to other places. However, as this is closer to home it is also about figuring out what changes we can make to improve our wellbeing.

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Use ABS data to compare median weekly income, health conditions, and motor vehicle ownership in Busselton, Dunsborough, and Kalgoorlie. + crime rate

1. You will receive one map to create.

2. Head to https://abs.gov.au/census/find-census-data/search-by-area or https://redsuburbs.com.au/lgas/ if you are doing crime

3. Search for your statistics for each area. I would suggest you look at around 5 areas and leave the tabs open

4. Create a colour legend for your map. It should be in shades from lightest (the lower end of the statistic) to darkest

5. Fill in the map with each area

6. Complete a PQE method analysis in your book. If you forgot how to do this, instructions are on the last post.

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Spatial variation in wellbeing refers to the differing levels of wellbeing experienced by people in different regions or locations. This can be influenced by a variety of factors including economic conditions, accessibility to services, education, and environmental quality.

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🤔 QUESTIONS

1. What are the biggest wellbeing issues Busselton is facing?

🔑 VOCAB

Fieldwork

📝 GOALS

I can develop fieldwork questions

💁 WHY ARE WE LEARNING THIS?

Because we live here. :)

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What issues do you think we face in Busselton?

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What issues do you think we face in Busselton?

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ABC News: Busselton psychiatrist proposes inpatient mental health unit to meet 'shocking' demand

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ABC News: Busselton psychiatrist proposes inpatient mental health unit to meet 'shocking' demand

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Dominique Bayens and Jackson Worthington

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Case load stuns local psychiatrist amid calls for more services for young

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Psychiatrist Stephen Proud has had to reassess plans for a quiet life in Busselton. He says his practice is “overloaded” and the need for mental health services is growing.

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Fieldwork = collecting data about people or places.

We are going to conduct a fieldwork project next lesson where we ask people what they think the biggest wellbeing issues facing Busselton are.

1. Determine which 3 people you will interview. You should try to interview a range of ages and backgrounds.

2. Prepare questions. You should have at least 5 questions designed to get your interviewees thinking deeply about wellbeing in Busselton.

3. Draft a consent email/paper to your interviewees. It should clearly outline what the fieldwork is for, and determine when the interview will happen.

4. We will interview next lesson!

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2021 Census All persons QuickStats

Search all persons QuickStats for another area

Other 2021 Census products available for this area:

To view more QuickStats or Community Profiles for a different area, see Search Census data.

Small random changes have been made to all cell values for privacy reasons. These changes may cause the sum of rows or columns to differ by small amounts from the table totals.

In Busselton, Secular Beliefs and Other Spiritual Beliefs and No Religious Affiliation was the largest broad group religious group reported overall (53.8%) (excludes Not stated). The broad group level is the highest and most general level of the Australian Standard Classification of Religious Groups, 2016.

(a) Percentages (%) exclude dwellings with 'Partial income stated' or 'All incomes not stated.'

Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples

Please note that there are small random adjustments made to all cell values to protect the confidentiality of data. These adjustments may cause the sum of rows or columns to differ by small amounts from table totals.

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2021 Busselton, Census All persons QuickStats | Australian Bureau of Statistics

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Small random changes have been made to all cell values for privacy reasons. These changes may cause the sum of rows or columns to differ by small amounts from the table totals.

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Role of Government in Enhancing Wellbeing

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Role of Government in Enhancing Wellbeing

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This post explores the various government interventions aimed at improving wellbeing. We will look at policies and programs that are designed to address issues such as poverty, healthcare, education, and employment.

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In this case study, we take a closer look at a specific government intervention that has been implemented to improve wellbeing in a particular area. We will discuss the strategies used, outcomes, and lessons learned.

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Australian Institute of Health and Welfare

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The following case studies demonstrate the AIHW's contribution to the different ways in which information and statistics produced by the institute are used to inform and support better policy and service delivery decisions, leading to better health and wellbeing for all Australians.

Each case study is developed in collaboration with one or more of our partner agencies and other peak bodies.

These case studies demonstrate that outcomes and impact can take many years, and the combined work of many people and organisations, to generate. Through documenting these research journeys in this way we are showing that the creation of knowledge is vital, but also that there are many other sources of information available to generate impact.

If you have any comments or suggestions, would like to be kept informed when new case studies are published, or would like to discuss partnering with AIHW to document your organisation's work as an AIHW impact case study, then please let us know. You can contact Communications and Engagement Team at [email protected] .

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Our impact page on the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare website