Population Matters

The Australian Population Association (APA) in collaboration with the Applied Population Studies Programme of the School of the Environment at Flinders University organised a series of events (two seminars followed by a panel discussion) on key aspects of the population dynamics of Australia and South Australia. These events were aimed at promoting people’s interest in and awareness of population matters and how they impact on development, health and the environment. They were held in Adelaide the months of July, September and October 2013.

These events were open to all. They were free for APA members. For non-APA members, the entry fee for each event was $20 (working), $10 (non-working, retirees and students).

The series started with the first seminar delivered by Professor Graeme Hugo held on Wednesday 24th July 2013. The topic was “The Demography of South Australia – An Overview of Past Trends and Future Prospects”. Around 38 registered for the first event and 31 attended.

The second seminar was delivered by Professor Peter McDonald from Crawford School of Public Policy at the Australian National University. This seminar was held on Tuesday 10th September 2013. The topic was “Migration to Australia – Impact of Changing Government Policies”. The event was extremely well attended with 60 participants.

The third event was a panel discussion held on Tuesday 29th October 2013. The topic of the panel discussion was “South Australia’s Population – Challenges and Opportunities”. The panellists were Professor Mary Luszcz, Director of the Centre for Ageing Studies at Flinders University, Mr Michael Hickinbotham, Member of the Economic Development Board of South Australia, and Professor Graeme Hugo, Director of the Australian Population and Migration Research Centre at the University of Adelaide. The panel was chaired by Dr Ross Steele, Principal Demographer in the Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure, Government of SA. There were around 60 participants that included a good representation from various Government departments.

All these events were attended by participants from a wide range of organisations, including Department of Premier and Cabinet, ABS, Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure, Fairmont Group, Adelaide City Council, and students and researchers from all three SA universities and other interested individuals.