Australia's population: shaping a vision for our future

Recommendations from the 2012 Theo Murphy High Flyers Think Tank.
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The 2012 Theo Murphy High Flyers Think Tank brought 60 early to mid-career researchers together with expertise in disciplines across economics, social sciences, ecology, biology and technology to consider how a vision for Australia’s future might be shaped by population.

Researchers worked in four groups to consider specific contexts in which population trajectories might affect different aspects of our social and natural environments. Each group considered one of the following questions:

  • Who will we be?
  • How will we share activities and resources?
  • What will we do?
  • How shall we live in our habitat?

All of the different future population scenarios examined by the groups showed that Australia will face big and challenging questions, particularly with pressures on our social and ecological systems. In finding solutions, science has a crucial role to play.