DICK SMITH’S POPULATION PUZZLE Program transcript
T MS Rear shot of Dick as train goes by (Music)i in slow motion t MS Rear shot of Dick as he drives his DICKl SMITH: Oh, traffic. car in traffic e : MS Looking out of car windscreen at traffic ( P MS Windscreen and rear view mirror Grid lock. showing Dick‟s reflection D F MS Looking through side window of car M at Dick driving in traffic A K MS Looking through windscreen at DICKE VO: Notice anything different about traffic driving in opposite direction whereR you live? For most Australians it's never. been more crowded. WS Time lapse of people going through NEWSREADER:E Australia is heading for a ticket stalls at train section, then populationP boom. slows down S ) WS Crowds of people By 2050 it looks like there will be 35 millionP people here, WS Crowds of people and traffic at that'sr not far off double what it is now. night e NEWSREADER:v It's i MS Traffic moving very slowly official,e Sydney is w WS Lines of traffic moving very slowly collapsing: under the weight of its own on motorway popularity. T MS Shots of traffic NEWSREADER: Greater Brisbane, population 2 hmillion, forecast to double by 2056. i ECU Dick Smith, Dick‟s glasses show DICKs VO: We're in the middle of a reflection of images population boom, the likes of which we haven'tE seen since the 1950s. P B&W Archive footage of people arriving ARCHIVE: Today we are receiving new on ships citizensS at a higher rate than ever before in our history. p (Music)i c t u WS Dick walking through crowded ther DICK VO: We're even outpopulating Bangladesh street some of the poorest nations, setting a terriblee example in a world already struggling with too many people. In fact, w Computer graphic showing Greek columns Australiaa is the gold medallist in representing countries and their populations growth. No other major economy percentage of growth is growing at anything like the pace that wen are. o t
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Dick Smith‟s Population Puzzle
Vision Audio
MS Time lapse of people going down an The boom is quite literally changing the escalator face of our cities, forcing up property prices, clogging our roads and exhausting our countryside.
WS Panning around land of dry, cracked earth It started under John Howard.
MCU John Howard giving speech JOHN HOWARD SYNC: We will decide who comes to this country and the Super: 29 October 2001 circumstances in which they come.
John Howard DICK VO: Grew under Kevin Rudd.
Former Prime Minister KEVIN RUDD SYNC: I actually believe in a big Australia. Slides to MCU Kevin Rudd on ‟7:30 Report‟ DICK VO: And keeps climbing under Julia Gillard.
JULIA GILLARD SYNC: If we still need Slides to MCU Julia Gillard on „Today‟ skilled migrants then of course we should show enable them to come.
MS Crowds going down stairs at train DICK VO: But no-one ever asked you if this is a station good idea.
WS Crowds of people coming down stairs Until now it's never been an election issue.
ECU Side view of Dick Smith But as I found out it may be just about the biggest question we could ever ask.
Opening graphics (Opening theme music )
Dick Smith’s Population Puzzle
WS Hangar doors opening January 2010 ALAN JONES: While I was away a message appeared on my phone, it was from Dick Smith. When Dick Smith the former Australian of the Year starts ringing you know there's something out there of some concern.
WS Dick pushing trolley which backs (Music – „Walk into my Soul‟) helicopter out of the hangar
Six months before Julia Gillard becomes PM
WS Dick Smith steering helicopter out DICK VO: Something very strange has been of hangar going on.
MCU Rotor of helicopter turning
WS Helicopter taking off Australia is conducting an unplanned social experiment that's changing our way of life.
2 Dick Smith‟s Population Puzzle
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Computer-generated graphics looking out Last year our population grew by more than of helicopter windscreen with 480,000 people, one-third were born here, population counter in foreground and the rest arrived as migrants. That's people on land growing in numbers, almost the equivalent of the State of pulls out to show population covering Tasmania in just 12 months. Imagine what Tasmania and then infrastructure images we need to keep pace with that - 300 popping up schools, 3 big hospitals, a university, 1,200 police, 190,000 homes. Think of it as building a big new city every year. That's what this rate of growth demands. And of course we are not keeping up.
MCU Ross Gittins ROSS SYNC: I wouldn't be at all confident that we'd have enough food or enough water or enough roads or enough buses or enough houses to cope with that, not at all. SUPER: Ross Gittins (Music) Economics Editor Fairfax
MS Dick Smith sitting talking with Bob BOB SYNC: There are going to be tensions CarR and problems and lower living standards, an inferior economy, lower wealth per SUPER: Bob Carr head.
Former NSW Premier
MCU Mike Archer MIKE SYNC: We cannot keep going the way we're going now. It's going to fall apart SUPER: Mike Archer around us.
Professor of Science UNSW DICK VO: Now I have to admit that MS Time lapse Dick Smith at train until recently I hadn't thought much station amongst crowd about a big Australia. Like most people I hadn't joined the dots on what's been happening. I was in for a real shock
MS Dick Smith at Dymocks with Pip, Jen DICK SYNC: Hello, this is my little and Charlie Brown SUPER: February 2010 Charlie Brown.
DICK SYNC: I hadn't considered the Population issue but my daughter Jenny, Jenny here, phoned me up in about October and said, “Dad, they talk about human-induced global warming but they never talk about the elephant in the room and I said, "What's that Jen?"
MCU Jenny, Charlie Brown and Pip JEN SYNC: Dad, with all this talk about watching Dick at Dymocks Human-induced global warming and our carbon emissions why does no-one ever talk about population growth? SUPER: Jenny Brown
MCU Rear shot of Dick talking, looking DICK SYNC: And I instantly thought how out on WS of crowd at Dymocks can I be so dumb?
MCU Jenny JENNY SYNC: And this time he kind of - there was a big pause and I think he just said, “Well I haven't really thought about
3 Dick Smith‟s Population Puzzle
Vision Audio that.”
MCU Rear shot of Dick talking, looking DICK SYNC: I like to be the thinker of out on WS of crowd at Dymocks our family but in this particular case Jenny was way ahead.
MCU Jenny JENNY SYNC: A couple of days later he rang me back and he said, “I've been thinking about what you asked me and that's a really interesting point that you've raised and I'm going to explore it more.”
MCU Dick Smith DICK SYNC: Nothing has hit me more than to realise that it's been neglected for generations. Right now we should be making decisions on population, we should have the best brains working out what could happen if we do go to 45 million or indeed 100 million and what advantages we could have by perhaps keeping the population at 23 or 24 million.
MS Dick walking along corridor at ICM DICK VO: It's time to have a real conversation about population. So for the Super: March 2010 next few months I'm going to make a real
MCU Dick entering auditorium at ICM nuisance of myself giving talks, asking questions,
MS Dick and others walking to front of to see if I can get the debate kick auditorium, audience standing started.
MCU Pip seated in audience DICK SYNC: I was born
MCU Dick giving oration at ICM in the Sydney suburb of Roseville not far from here and I was
B&W Photograph of Dick as a child what you'd call a free-range kid. As you holding a hose know battery kids live in, you know, home units and high rise, free-range kids
B&W Photograph of Dick as a child on have backyards and climb over the fences. swing I had a cubby house in the backyard, a swing tied to the tree. My dad actually had a vegetable garden.
Archive footage of a milkman delivering DICK VO: Now call me old fashioned but milk this was a pretty wonderful
Archive footage of kids playing cricket way to grow up. in park (Music)
MCU Dick Smith as he approaches his old DICK SYNC: This is the house I lived in house for the first five years and it's the same, got a bit bigger.
MCU Dick looking at the front door That's the same door.
MS Rear shot of Dick walking down Wow, hello, everyone. hallway of house WOMAN SYNC: Hi, Dick.
MS Rear shot of Dick walking towards DICK SYNC: This is beautiful. Now look at 4 Dick Smith‟s Population Puzzle
Vision Audio the back of the house followed by this tree here, current owner
MS Looking up to canopy of tree I used to have a cubby house in it.
MS Dick looking up at tree with kids BOY SYNC: We've still got a couple of nails.
DICK SYNC: There still is?
BOY SYNC: Somewhere.
DICK SYNC: Can you see them up there? Do you climb it?
BOY SYNC: Rarely. No.
DICK SYNC: I bet you do.
CU B&W photos of Dick‟s family at the This is the front stairs house, Dick pointing to photo
MCU Dick showing boys the B&W photos and this is going into your front door.
B&W Photo of Dick‟s family on front Look, that's me there. stairs of house
WS Dick walking over to hedge and looks I want to have a look at the fence. through
MCU Dick holding back branches of head It's still there. That's the fence I used to show old wooden fence to climb over all the time. I used to take out two palings when
B&W Photo of Dick as a child sitting in Mum and Dad didn't know so I could sneak garden holding a kitten through into the backyard and we all used to play cubby houses in the backyard.
(Music)
Archive footage of couple looking at DICK SYNC: My mum was a home mother front of house
Archive footage of family inside house and my dad was a salesman and in those days they'd saved up enough money for a deposit for a house
WS Dick speaking at ICM and a salesman could buy a house at Roseville. It's interesting because these days
WS Dick‟s former home in background, I just worked out it's about six times kids playing cricket along path and more expensive compared to the average Dick looking to camera in foreground, wage to buy a house. computer-generated real estate sign showing price then and now
Archive footage of boy tipping water ROSS SYNC: We haven't been building over girl in front yard, man and woman enough houses to meet the growth in the sitting on veranda population,
MCU Ross Gittins particularly when we are force feeding the growth in the population by having high levels of immigration. All of those people who come to Australia have got to find 5 Dick Smith‟s Population Puzzle
Vision Audio somewhere to live. If we're not building enough houses that will manifest itself just in pushing up the price.
WS Aerial shot looking down at (Music) roundabout, pulling out and showing residential area DICK VO: If young families can't afford to live anywhere near
EWS Aerial shot showing large the centre of town, our cities will keep residential area spreading beyond the horizon.
WS View from windscreen of new estate DICK VO: 40 kilometres from the centre of Melbourne
MCU Dick sitting in car looking out Manor Lakes is the city's newest suburb. window at new estate
WS Shots of new houses There's no actual lake here yet but the pioneers have already arrived and soon 25,000 more will follow.
MCU Panning down sales poles to display DICK VO: Manor Lakes is managed by one of homes the country's
WS Panning L-R from display homes to most successful developers, Bert Dennis. Dick and Bert Dennis walking along He has more than 50 years property footpath experience and this is one of his biggest projects yet.
WS Panning R-L from display homes to And with the population set to double street
WS Labourer planting tree on block of it's a gamble that's bound to pay off. land
WS Playground in background, newly Bert agrees houses are getting too expensive planted gardens in foreground and he blames governments for not releasing enough land.
MS Rear shot of Dick and Bert walking DICK SYNC: What you're saying is that one down hallway of new home of the reasons
MS View up hallway then entering for the very high cost of land is that bedroom actually there's not enough land available and people -
MS Dick and Bert BERT SYNC: Not enough land available.
DICK SYNC: And people are actually stopping development because they want to Super: Bert Dennis keep their house with the block of land and so forth. Wouldn't another way of Dennis Family Corp getting the prices down is not to have an increase in number of people buying? In other words, if you have less buyers the prices will come down?
BERT SYNC: Certainly, if you stopped the immigration rate no doubt the whole
MS Panning from fence to new house being industry would collapse but the industry constructed is somewhere around about 9% or 10% of the
6 Dick Smith‟s Population Puzzle
Vision Audio Australian economy.
DICK SYNC: So it's a lot easier with
MS Dick and Bert capitalism when we've got population growth, isn't it?
BERT SYNC: Yes.
WS Panning from ground to workmen (Music)
DICK VO: It seems to me as if we've got ourselves
WS Panning L-R along site where workmen into a trap. Prices are going up because are working of pressure from immigration, yet if immigration was reduced the building
WS Workmen on site industry faces collapse. No-one seems to think that there's any
WS Landscapers working at front of alternative to the growth treadmill and display homes our governments are always playing catch up.
B&W Archival footage on Australia‟s MAN: Australia has known falling values in shortage of people wages and high cost of living and on top of this a desperate shortage of houses, more than a quarter of a million urgently needed.
EWS Aerial shot of city skyline DICK SYNC: We measure the success of a government by the increase in the gross domestic product, GDP, and if it goes down oh, we better CU Dick Smith throw that government out. So you have a prime minister saying “I've got to have growth, I've got to have growth.” Well we‟ll bring more immigrants in, we'll expand the population and no-one has actually said to the Prime Minister “Look, we're not stupid, we'd actually be prepared to have a lower increase in gross domestic product as long as we're better off as individuals” and we can do that with less Australians.
WS Dick walking past portraits hanging DICK VO: If I want to find out what's on wall in Parliament House really going on the answers should be in this place. Super: Parliament House
Canberra 2010
WS Looking up at glass ceiling in Around here everyone seems to welcome a Parliament House big Australia. Politicians love the thought of more taxpayers. It's always been that way and if they have their way it always will.
MS Dick Smith meeting Chris Evans DICK SYNC: Senator, Dick Smith.
CHRIS SYNC: Chris, how are you?
MCU Chris Evan DICK SYNC: Good to see you.
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Super: Chris Evans CHRIS SYNC: Nice to meet you.
Immigration Minister DICK SYNC: Come through.
CHRIS SYNC: We are a migrant country, we're probably the greatest migrant country in the world and we're going to continue to need migrants.
B&W Archival footage of adult education MAN: Australia's immediate population class target is 20 million people. We cannot get that number overnight but we can get it quickly by planned immigration.
WS Time lapse people on escalators at (Music) shopping centre DICK VO: We're still looking for the quick fix.
WS Time lapse people coming through You think there would be a plan that would ticket gates at train station tell us how big we could grow but the man in charge of the numbers says that's someone else's department.
Net Migration 2009 DICK: Do you think that there is a limit to the number of people Australia can 277,700 support and feed?
MS Dick Smith and Chris Evans CHRIS SYNC: Well, that's more a question for an agricultural economist or someone, I suppose, but clearly food security is a big part of the issue, water's a big part of the issue, carbon pollution reduction is a big part of the issue. But Australia is a large country, we have one of the lowest population per kilometre ratios of any country in the world and we have an awful lot of intellectual capability, it seems to me, to adapt. So I'm not one of those who thinks some sort of arbitrary figure determined by government is a solution.
MS Dick leaving office and walking down MAN: So Dick, what did you think of that? corridor DICK SYNC: Well it's obvious that there's no plan.
MS Dick walking down corridor Here you have the Minister for Immigration and he's actually got not a plan or no idea on the maximum number of people Australia can actually sustain. Amazing.
(Music)
EWS Dick walking through foyer at DICK VO: Not that the Opposition has a Parliament House plan either.
WS Tony Abbott running through foyer They're all over the place. Tony Abbott says he welcomes high immigration.
MCU Tony Abbott at conference NEWSREADER: The Opposition Leader used an 8 Dick Smith‟s Population Puzzle
Vision Audio Australia Day speech in Melbourne to tackle
Super: Melbourne
January 26, 2010
MS Tony Abbott getting up to speak population policy and flag his support for a larger migrant intake.
TONY SYNC: My instinct Super: Melbourne
January 26, 2010
MCU Tony Abbott at podium is to extend to as many people as possible the freedom and benefits of life in Australia.
Super: Tony Abbott
Opposition Leader
Footage ABC News – Story: Mixed Message NEWSREADER SYNC: The Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has triggered a new debate on immigration suggesting the country should throw its doors open to more migrants.
DICK VO: But then his party announced a policy that says precisely the opposite.
Footage ABC News – Story: Growing NEWSREADER SYNC: The Federal Opposition Pains is hardening its stance against population growth and has declared Australia's total yearly intake of migrants is out of control. Super: April 6, 2010 (Music)
Still photos Dick Smith talking to Bob DICK VO: Even my old friend Bob Brown's Brown been quiet on the subject for fear of offending powerful interest groups.
MS Dick Smith talking to Bob Brown, DICK SYNC: Why don‟t you kick up a fuss zooms in to MCU Bob Brown as the Greens, we hardly hear you about it?
BOB SYNC: Well, I'll take responsibility Super: Bob Brown for that because I can tell you that the single most common question I get in public forums out of the blue is about Leader of the Greens population. I bring it into this place and you run straight into a wall of putty. It is - the question there really is why isn't the population itself, why aren't the people of Australia insisting that their politicians raise this issue and deal with it? Why don't they vote for people who do raise the issue? Why is the media so frightened to take up the issue of population? We've really got to get out of that mindset.
MS Angry crowd outside building DICK VO: Bob's right. Politicians don't want
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MCU Angry crowd outside building debate about population.
MCU Man at protest MAN SYNC: I don't want to see them here.
MCU Woman at protest WOMAN SYNC: Come to Australia, you should live like an Australian.
WS Panning protest crowd outside DICK VO: It raises too many difficult building
Zooming out from picture of baby to questions about fertility and immigration. show Dick and two ladies each holding a They would much rather shut the discussion baby down.
MCU Anthony Albanese ANTHONY SYNC: I think Dick Smith should stay out of people's bedrooms.
Super: Anthony Albanese
Minister for Infrastructure and Transport
MS Dick meeting Anthony Albanese at DICK SYNC: Dick Smith. Parliament House, Anthony Albanese walking off ANTHONY SYNC: G'day, mate, how are you going?
DICK SYNC: Good to see you.
ANTHONY SYNC: How you going?
DICK SYNC: I'm making a documentary on population.
ANTHONY SYNC: Good on you.
DICK SYNC: So do you want to see me next week or something?
ANTHONY SYNC: Yeah, yeah, we've rung.
DICK SYNC: Rightio, next week I think it is.
ANTHONY SYNC: Come around, mate.
KELVIN SYNC: We all know the world has plenty of problems, it staggers
MS Kelvin Thompson giving speech in me that so often we ignore the elephant in Parliament the room - increasing population.
Panning to ECU side view of Kelvin (Music) Thompson DICK VO: There's just one bloke in politics with the courage to speak out, even though it
WS Kelvin Thompson sitting at desk gets him into trouble with his colleagues - 10 Dick Smith‟s Population Puzzle
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CU Kelvin Thompson at this desk Labor backbencher Kelvin Thompson.
KELVIN SYNC: All of the problems that we see now,
MS Kelvin Thompson speaking to Dick things like food prices, housing Smith affordability, traffic congestion, overcrowded concrete jungles, carbon emissions, all of these things come back ultimately to population. Super: Kelvin Thompson
Labor MP
WS Kelvin Thompson in office, man DICK VO: I've become a Kelvin Thompson sitting at desk disciple.
KELVIN SYNC: In my view
MS Kelvin Thompson speaking in it isn't so much a problem as the problem. Parliament DICK VO: He's urging a cut in our immigration levels to their historic average of around 70,000 migrants per year.
Photos of babies, pulls out to show And dropping the wasteful baby bonus that Peter Costello surrounded by babies costs us nearly $1.5 billion a year.
MS Kelvin Thompson speaking to Dick DICK SYNC: I mean what you're saying just Smith sounds so obvious that it seems impossible to me that with all of our leaders that they don't agree with you. What's going on?
KELVIN SYNC: Well I think the issue is that business in general and property developers in particular have been pushing governments and political parties and politicians hard over the years for maximum population outcomes, maximum migration levels and they have a lot of influence in our political system courtesy of campaign donations.
MS Panning up from ground floor of (Music – „Little Boxes‟) multistorey building to top
WS Panning R-L down from apartment DICK VO: So, if it's not the politicians building to the construction of more in charge is it big business pulling the apartment buildings strings? If that's the case we're in
MS Apartment building big trouble.
MS Looking up at apartment building Harry Trigaboff
MCU Rear shot of Harry Trigaboff is the biggest property developer in the looking out over city view country and for him a big Australia is never big enough.
HARRY SYNC: I'd like to see
MCU Harry Trigaboff 100 million because I believe we'll have many things to do here besides drilling 11 Dick Smith‟s Population Puzzle
Vision Audio holes and selling coal. I mean our agriculture has to be huge, our desalination must be fantastic, our rivers Super: Harry Trigaboff must flow the right way, I mean it will all have to be developed. Meriton Apartments
WS Panning R-L over multiple apartment DICK VO: If Harry has his way, we'll be buildings concreting over
WS Aerial shot of national parks our national parks to make room.
HARRY SYNC: Nowhere in the world do you have
MCU Harry Trigaboff parks in the middle of the city, that's what we have here and they're huge parks so if we want the city to be efficient then we have to make the parks smaller.
WS Looking down at national parks (Music) through helicopter floor DICK SYNC: It's all been kept secret.
MCU Dick Smith It's amazing people say “Oh, don't talk about population, you will be declared a racist” and I said, “What's it got to do with racism? It's nothing to do with it.”
MS „On Air‟ sign on wall ALEX: 1300 681 666 Dick Smith
CU Instrument panel says it's time to have a discussion about this, it's the elephant in the room that's not talked about.
Super: Alex Elcan 666 ABC Canberra
MCU Dick Smith in radio interview at ALEX SYNC: Are you comfortable though 666 ABC with the immigration debate and this has Australians of various skin
WS Looking into studio where Dick in colour being fronted by other Australians having an interview at 666 ABC, rear with T-shirts like shot of radio workers in foreground
MS Dick and radio interviewer in studio “F off we're full” and “We grew here you flew here”. How do you tackle this issue and avoid the tag of that kind of ugly racism?
DICK SYNC: Well it's absolutely nothing to do with racism if I asked for our immigration to come down to 70,000, obviously on a totally non-discriminatory way. Personally I believe our humanitarian intake which is very low, I believe that should double. That will have no measurable difference in our population but
ECU Instrument panel it has nothing to do with
MS Crowds of people racism at all. Why would you want to bring people here if they can't have a good life
12 Dick Smith‟s Population Puzzle
Vision Audio in the future?
DICK SYNC: By the way can I just ask
MS Dick at podium addressing meeting you something, I've given what people would call a controversial speech, that we should have a plan for population in Australia. If you agree with me put up Super: Australia Institute your hand.
Canberra March 10, 2010
WS Panning around room showing audience Is there anyone who disagrees? Oh, come putting up their hands and then on. lowering them
Graphics
Two days after Dick’s Visit to Canberra
The Greens call for
An inquiry into Australia’s population
The Opposition initially supports them
Then backflipped
Footage from ABC News Breakfast – VIRGINIA SYNC: The population of Virginia Trioli Australia is projected to reach 36 million by 2050 but the Greens say the nation can't sustain that many people. Speaking earlier on ABC News Breakfast demographer Bernard Salt said Australia's character would change if it cut immigration.
MCU Bernard Salt on ABC News Breakfast BERNARD SYNC: We are an immigrant nation, with super of Population Growth, have been for 100 years and I think we Bernard Salt, Demographer will be for another 100 years and it gives us our sort of can do, young, vital, vibrant society.
DICK VO: I'm keen to meet this Bernard Salt. No-one does more boosting for a big Australia than Bernard. The media always call him a demographer but he isn't. He's got a history degree and usually they forget to mention he's a partner for the multinational consulting firm KPMG.
MS Dick coming up escalator to foyer of (Music) Property Council of Australia convention DICK SYNC: It's interesting I'm told that a good public
MS Dick Smith addressing convention speaker always tells an audience what they want to hear and that's going to be a bit difficult today, I can tell you.
WS Function room where convention is DICK VO: Bernard's addressing the held, tables and stage Property Council of Australia and they've
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Super: Brisbane March 5, 2010
MCU Panning up sign of „The Great let me give a talk too. Believe me, they Growth Debate‟ don't get much more pro growth
WS Panning from audience to Dick on than this. stage DICK SYNC: But most people know that one day we'll reach a limit in the population carrying capacity of the finite world.
MCU Woman in audience Not all people, of course. My friend Bernard Salt
MCU Dick‟s shadow on red board in front sent me an email and I'll read it to you. of curtain “Hi, Dick, I'm not clear on
MCU Rear shot of Dick as he addresses what you mean by the statement that we audience cannot have growth always.
MCU Dick on stage at podium Are you an advocate of nil growth? That Australia's population should stabilise? If this is the case then I cannot support that point of view.”
Footage of „The Nation with David DICK SYNC: For a start one day even Speers‟ – Dick Smith and Bernard Salt Bernard has to admit when we've got 10 as participants billion in Australia, one day he's going to say enough's enough we actually have to run our economy –
WOMAN SYNC: 10 billion you reckon?
DICK SYNC: Well we have to say it one day.
BERNARD SYNC: Let's clarify this.
DICK VO: Bernard salt is the one always warning us that we need new immigrants to pay the pensions of the retiring baby boomers.
MCU Bernard Salt BERNARD SYNC: And the only way that we can fund the baby boomers in their number and in their expectations of lifestyle is by growing the tax base. Now we can either Super: Bernard Salt ask generation X and generation Y to pay more tax which is not going to be very popular or we can attract more taxpayers KPMG Partner and that is the basis to the big Australia. That is why I think we are pursuing big Australia.
MS Audience members DICK SYNC: There's an ageing population
MCU Dick Smith on stage so let's get more young people, immigrants in, who will be paying taxes and working. The only thing is that
MCU Woman in audience huge bubble of 2.1% last year,
MCU Tanya Plibersek on stage one of the highest
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MCU Dick Smith on stage increases in the world, incredibly high, that then gets old so then no doubt someone says let's get more people in to solve that problem.
WS Time lapse rear view of students (Music) walking along path BERNARD SYNC: We drag taxpayers in in their 20s, they don't get sick,
MCU Bernard Salt they don't want an aged pension and they pay tax for 40 years, it's a short-term, stop gap solution to the tax issue we have with retirement of the baby boomers.
(Music)
DICK VO: But one of Australia's
MS Dick walking with Ross Gittins in most respected economic commentators isn't office buying it.
ROSS SYNC: Increased immigration is actually
MCU Ross Gittins not a very satisfactory way to cope with the ageing of the population. I think, by the way, that the ageing of the population is an exaggerated problem, Super: Ross Gittins
Economics Editor Fairfax
MCU Dick Smith especially in Australia. Our pensions are means tested and they're flat rate,
MCU Ross Gittins doesn't matter what you used to earn, if you're eligible for the pension you get whatever it is, you know, $300 a week or whatever the figure is, everyone gets the same and that's not a lot of money.
MS Older lady pushing walking frame ROSS: We're much getter off to face it, along footpath
WS Foyer of building with elderly I think, than take all the extra costs people that are
MCU Panning from older man‟s feet up as associated with letting in lots more he walks along beach people
MCU Ross Gittins when we can't adequately supply the infrastructure for the people we've already got.
WS Ocean liner on harbour in city at DICK VO: Everyone's always worrying that night time Australia's an ageing society. It's as if we
WS Panning L-R from Harbour Bridge at oldies give nothing back to the community. night to windows of Dick‟s apartment Economists don't value the huge showing him lying on the floor playing contribution older people make in with his grandkids volunteering and in helping out.
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MS Dick with his grandkids in lounge DICK SYNC: So how old is Charlie Brown? room floor BOY SYNC: Only 1.
MCU Charlie Brown on floor DICK SYNC: Only 1.
DICK VO: And while the costs of crime are added to the GDP,
MCU Dick and Charlie Brown looking after the grand kids doesn‟t count.
DICK SYNC: Are you eating the frog?
(Music)
MCU Ron Bloom in office working on DICK VO: If we're really so worried then computer we can do
MS Dick walking through car park a whole lot more to encourage older Australians to contribute their wisdom and experience.
MS Dick enters shed and meets Ron Bloom DICK SYNC: G'day.
DICK VO: People like Ron Bloom, he's 74 and has no intention of slowing down. Super: Ron Bloom DICK SYNC: Someone's told me that you Inkredible Inks basically were thrown on the scrap heap, which is normal when you're 65, but you started your own business?
RON SYNC: I did, I did. Yes, I got tired of doing nothing and I thought everybody has to keep going because otherwise you age too quickly.
DICK VO: Ron didn't feel like waiting around to pickle.
(Music)
WS Shot of moving through shelves of storage area of Inkredible Inks
WS Panning R-L from storage area to DICK VO: So he started a successful office where Ron is seated at desk printer supply company, sold it and got himself re-employed by the new owners.
CU Ron working at computer DICK SYNC: Now tell me, you have had
MS Dick and Ron Bloom talking a career in computers so you've got good knowledge but at 65 when you went to Centrelink you couldn't actually get a job, is that because employers just write off people who are in their 60s?
RON SYNC: Yes. You see the funny thing is that when you're in your 60s they think oh god, he may not last long but they don't realise that a 25-year-old also may only be there for six months, in fact more
16 Dick Smith‟s Population Puzzle
Vision Audio likely. So yeah, this is the thing. So yeah, I don‟t know why they look at it that way, unfortunately, because there's a lot of knowledge up there in these 55 plus-year-olds what a shame, what a waste.
CU Instrument panel RADIO AD: Richard Glover‟s
MS Dick Smith entering Studio 221 at Drive… radio station Well hello, Mr Fancy Pants.
..on 702 ABC Sydney.
DICK SYNC: Richard, I think it's all downhill from now on,
WS Looking into studio with Dick and other than a few wealthy capitalists who Richard Glover will make money from growth.
Super: Richard Glover 702 ABC Sydney
MCU Dick Smith At the moment 22 million, that's divided amongst the incredible wealth of this country. Go to 44 million and everyone's going to be worth half
MS Back view of Dick in foreground, as much. Look at Sydney now, it's just - Richard Glover in background
MS Dick Smith and Pru Goward you can't drive, you can't move, the hospitals, in the '50s you could get into hospital now you can wait two years some people are waiting because we haven't kept up and everyone says how can we handle all these people?
WS Crowds of people in city street Why doesn't someone say let's not have all this huge 36 million, let's actually have a plan, an idea.
(Music)
MCU Dick in cockpit of plane flying DICK: I suppose people
MCU Looking out of plane window at could say look, here am I with my wealth clouds telling poor people look, this is
CU Plane steering column what you should be doing but it's actually not that. If I said nothing
MCU Dick in cockpit of plane with the growth that's going on I'm going to make more and more money until the day I die but what I'm concerned about is my children and grandchildren, just normal Australians, and
MCU Dick Smith in shed I‟d want to be known, I'd rather die being known as someone who stood up and said it how it was and tried to do something rather than just made more and more money and died incredibly wealthy and meant my kids flew first class everywhere.
17 Dick Smith‟s Population Puzzle
Vision Audio
MS Dick leaving hotel and getting in (Music) taxi DICK SYNC: I'm Dick Smith.
CHRIS: Hello, Dick, I'm Chris Adams.
MS Rear shot of Dick and taxi driver in Christos Adamopolous. taxi DICK SYNC: Do you know what, whenever I jump into a taxi and I hear a driver with a different accent I always say “Tell me your adventure story “because I'm supposed to be an adventurer but people who come to this country they are the adventurers, wonderful, wonderful.
WS Shots of houses while driving along
WS Taxi driving along road DICK: Now do you think that it's a good idea to get more people?
CHRIS SYNC: I reckon so. We have a huge country. We can't have all this beautiful real MCU Chris Adams in taxi estate from one end to another with so much wealth to harvest from sea, air, minerals and the rest of it and there's only a handful of us. Super: Christos Adamopoulos
MCU Chris Adams in taxi And we do need people otherwise somebody might come in and eat us alive.
MS Looking in at Dick and Chris in taxi (Music) as they‟re driving MAN: The need for more
B&W Archive footage showing maps and Australians is obvious. The old world military training speaks of the troubled Far East. For us, it is the very near north. Teeming millions are on our doorstep while we Australians are so few.
DICK VO: Now one big part of the population puzzle is defence. For years we've been warned that others want to get their hands on Australia's wealth. We need to populate or perish.
BERNARD SYNC: The Australian nation and people
EWS Bernard Salt and Dick walking should be very aware of strategic security issues and I don't think the average Joe is.
MS Bernard Salt and Dick walking I think at the upper most level in business, upper most level in government that it‟s at the back of their mind but I think the average Australian needs to realise that we have an extraordinary asset here that does need to be protected.
B&W Archive footage showing maps and MAN: Any attempts by densely populated
18 Dick Smith‟s Population Puzzle
Vision Audio military training Asia to export surplus people might raise a few problems for Australia.
DICK VO: Now I don't know much about security issues so I thought
WS Dick and Peter Cosgrove talking in I'd seek an expert opinion. kitchen
MS Dick and Peter Cosgrove PETER SYNC: Well I don't agree with that argument for, you know, populate or perish, you know, double the size against some kind of amorphous threat. Really the Super: Peter Cosgrove thing that we need for our defence is to be absolutely smart about the way we do it. Diplomacy first and then behind that a Former Chief of the Defence Force defence force which can do the things it needs to defend our sovereignty in a smart way. It doesn't rely on numbers, it actually relies on very smart people and the wealth to put the right kit in their hands.
MCU Peter Cosgrove So simply doubling our population is irrelevant in terms of making us a more viable defence force.
EWS Panning from ocean to beach with DICK VO: Of course it's theoretically computer-generated buildings popping up possible to double our population and pack along coastline in a dozen cities along the Australian coast. Sure we have the physical space but what would be the gain? And more importantly, what would we have to give up?
WS Digger on building site DICK VO: The push for population is already pitting
WS Citizens protest walk citizens against their government.
EWS Looking down on protesters Super: It's trench warfare from one council to Ku-ring-gai Council Sydney the next.
Public Meeting
MS Man in audience at meeting MAN SYNC: Who are you answerable to?
DICK VO: And I didn't have to look far to find a skirmish. Super: Ku-ring-gai Council Sydney
Public Meeting
WS Audience at meeting MAN SYNC: Who are you?
WS Councillors at table on stage WOMAN SYNC: On their commitment.
DICK VO: This is
MCU Kerry Bedford on stage my old backyard on Sydney's North Shore. Desperate to
WS Security guards walking to front of squeeze in more people the State room in meeting Government has taken away planning control
19 Dick Smith‟s Population Puzzle
Vision Audio from the local council.
MS Rear shot of man standing up MAN SYNC: Are you telling me that this is addressing councillors, pans to a real – audience DICK VO: It's easy to dismiss opponents of change as selfish NIMBYs just out to protect their property values.
WS Pans from apartment building being But imagine if this happened to you. constructed to house next door
B&W Photo of man and woman In Pymble a 96-year-old woman refused to sell her home to developers.
WS Panning from home to apartment So they simply built the development building under construction around her.
DICK SYNC: How many units are there all together?
ANGELA SYNC: 143 on
MS Dick and Angela this side development and down here will be 25 but it's a horse shape.
DICK SYNC: So that's over 160 units where Super: Angela Harvey there was about 4 our 5 houses.
Owner’s carer ANGELA SYNC: 6 houses. DICK SYNC: Right, 6 houses and I mean has the roads been upgraded from Sydney?
ANGELA: No, no road upgrade, no public
WS Angela and Dick on balcony, digger transport upgrade. The Pymble station in foreground really is in the original condition, I think.
MS Dick and Angela Very, very little infrastructure.
(Music)
MS Pans L-R from window showing DICK VO: When developers come calling construction to bed with belongings laid out
MCU Belongings on bed there's not much you can do.
WS Looking up to crane ANGELA SYNC: They sent a letter saying 14 days see you in court and
MCU Angela I had to take - I had to take counsel on that and they said look, really, you can't stop them
WS Angela and Dick on balcony, digger from the Neighbouring Lands Act and they in foreground will get what they want.
DICK VO: Can't this happen to anyone
MS Dick and Angela in Australia?
ANGELA SYNC: Totally and that's what 20 Dick Smith‟s Population Puzzle
Vision Audio people need to see. Come and look here and see 8 storeys there, 6 storeys on the other side and at the back.
WS Dick in helicopter looking down at RADIO: 2GB. Sydney and harbour ALAN JONES: Now we don't have enough water, we don't have enough land. We've already changed the face of Ku-ring-gai and Dee Why.
MS Looking through floor of helicopter If you're going to have an average annual to land below arrival in this country of about 500,000 people shouldn't you be asked to submit
MS Looking through floor of helicopter an environmental plan as to what this to traffic might mean for the country?
DICK: You're absolutely spot on. Our Prime Minister
MCU Dick Smith on telephone didn't go to the election saying “I'm going to have record immigration levels”, there was no discussion at all. And by the way, no-one's allowed to talk about it because they'll say oh, you're racist. Now I am not racist, I love the fact that people come from all around the world.
MS Looking through floor of helicopter But what's the use of coming here if their to land below lifestyle, you end up with so many people you end up with the same problems they've come from.
ALAN JONES: That's right and yet we've had the largest 3-year increase in Australia's population during Mr Rudd's first term.
DICK: I can tell
MCU Dick Smith on telephone you most Australians what we identify with Australia is that we don't have a lot of people, we love that fact and I can't believe that we don't have a right to say we want to keep it that way.
MS Looking through floor of helicopter ALAN JONES: Hang in there, Dick Smith. to land below There we are.
RADIO: 2GB Traffic.
MS Looking through floor of helicopter Traffic is slow north bound up to the top to roads Ryde area.
WS Dick Smith and woman speaking to MAN SYNC: This is very un-Australian. television crew
MS Rear view of cameraman and DICK SYNC: And then I don't want them so interviewer talking to Dick we have
MS Side shot of Dick Smith and woman to knock our houses with speaking to television crew
MCU Interviewer backyards down.
21 Dick Smith‟s Population Puzzle
Vision Audio
MS Interviewer talking to Dick MAN SYNC: And this property here is zoned for a 5-storey building.
WS Dick Smith and woman speaking to DICK SYNC: I actually blame our television crew politicians.
MS Dick Smith talking to interviewers No, look, I'm not concerned about criticism at all. I'm not being an Asian provocateur.
‟60 Minutes‟ Opener
MCU Dick Smith DICK SYNC: The crime rate will go up, the health will go down, all of those problems caused by too many people. It's so stupid.
WS Dick Smith and Bob Carr walking DICK SYNC: So Bob, how do you think the along footpath campaign's going?
BOB SYNC: I think there‟s was a real shift in public opinion. I think, you know, the advocates of high immigration are now on the defensive.
MCU Looking over the shoulder of woman DICK: Basically every newspaper at newspaper article by Dick Smith
CU Dick Smith by-line on newspaper every day has got something about article population.
CU Woman reading newspaper on train BOB: The country wants to have a say in it.
MS View from train window
MS Pip walking over to helicopter DICK SYNC: What's happening, Pip?
PIP SYNC: Time to leave.
DICK SYNC: Right,
MCU Dick getting into helicopter in I get.
MCU Pip doing up belt in helicopter PIP SYNC: I think he could win this one
MS Pip Smith and I know for an absolute fact that he will do everything he can for as long as it takes so he does win.
Super: Pip Smith
MS Dick sitting in lounge watching It wouldn't surprise me if Dick changed „Insiders‟ on TV the policy of the
MCU Dick sitting in lounge Government on population.
MAN: When the
MS Dick sitting in lounge watching projections came out about how Australia's „Insiders‟ on TV population over
MCU „Insider‟ panellist the next 40 years was going to go from 22 million
22 Dick Smith‟s Population Puzzle
Vision Audio
MS Dick sitting in lounge watching to 36 he went on - this is in October on „Insiders‟ on TV the „7:30 Report‟ and said…
MCU Kevin Rudd on „7:30 Report‟ KEVIN RUDD SYNC: I actually believe in a big Australia.
MS Dick sitting in lounge watching I make no apology for that. I actually „7:30 Report‟ on TV think it's good news that our population is growing.
MAN SYNC: When that didn't go down too well
MCU „Insider‟ panellist he went on the „7:30 Report‟ again at the end of January and said…
MS Dick sitting in lounge watching KEVIN RUDD SYNC: I don't have a view on „7:30 Report‟ on TV that to be quite honest.
MCU Kevin Rudd on „7:30 Report‟ This is simply the reality we are now dealing with.
MS Dick sitting in lounge watching DICK SYNC: Look, I just can't believe „7:30 Report‟ on TV that he's our prime minister and he's saying he doesn't have a view on it 36 million. At least I think it's a move forward because a few months before he was saying that he supported a big Australia of 36 million. Now he's telling us he doesn't have a view on it. Well maybe we, the people who vote, can give him a view.
Graphics (Music)
ANU Survey
Do you want a bigger population?
31% yes 69% no
WS Students and Dick entering radio MADONNA: Dick Smith he needs to studio introduction, does he? He's here next for
Super: Madonna King 612 ABC Brisbane student press call and he's going to be MCU Panning R-L along 612 ABC banner on questioned this morning not by me, by wall students
MS Dick and students in studio from Redeema Lutheran College
MS People looking into studio at Rochdale.
CU Instrument panel STUDENT SYNC: Do you think though
MCU Back view of student in radio that we should just be taking a national studio, pans to Dick Smith approach to these issues or would a global approach to finding a solution to these issues be more beneficial?
DICK SYNC: I think we certainly should take a global approach
MCU Dick in radio studio because I've been able to fly around the
23 Dick Smith‟s Population Puzzle
Vision Audio world five times at low levels in my helicopters and planes and see the affect that we've had
CU Student and commonsense says we‟ve got too many people on this world, if we can just have slightly less
CU Boy student people we'll probably be able to
MS Dick Smith live for thousands of years but the rate we're going another 100 years time we're going to be in problems.
DICK VO: Those kids
MCU Student raised an important point - Australia can't simply ignore the rest
MS Students and Dick in studio of the world when it comes to population.
CU Dick driving car (Music)
DICK VO: It seems to me they've given it more thought than our politicians.
CU Radio being turned up by Dick RADIO NEWSREADER: The Federal Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner
CU Rear view of Dick as he drives has scoffed at the suggestion that Australia is overpopulated. In a speech
WS Car driving along road in Melbourne today Mr Tanner said other countries would laugh
WS Rear view of car driving along road in Australians mounted that argument as an excuse for
MCU Side view of Dick driving car clamping down on immigration.
LINDSAY TANNER: The argument
MCU Dick‟s reflection in rear-view that Australia is already overpopulated mirror
WS Car driving along road is simply nonsense. Bangladesh is roughly twice the physical
MS Rear view of Dick as he drives car size of Tasmania but home to about 7 times the population
WS Car as it drives along the road of Australia. If Australia seeks to persuade the rest of the world that we are overpopulated
WS View from front windscreen of car we would rightly be laughed at.
(Music)
MS Buses in Bangladesh DICK VO: I wonder if Lindsay Tanner has ever been to Bangladesh.
MS Buses and trucks on road
24 Dick Smith‟s Population Puzzle
Vision Audio
WS Panning along traffic congestion in Is he arguing Australia has to look like Bangladesh this before we can have a say about our own population levels? Bangladesh has
MS Traffic and pedestrians on street in 160 million people, the most densely Bangladesh populated, major country on Earth.
MS Dick being taken to slum area
MS Dick talks to family and enters DICK SYNC: Hello. Can I come in? their accommodation MAN SYNC: Yes.
DICK SYNC: Thank you. Wow. And you've got television?
MAN SYNC: Yes.
DICK VO: In this slum
WS Aerial view of slum, pulls out in Dakar 250,000 people are packed into an area of just one square kilometre.
DICK SYNC: So this is about
MS Dick in accommodation of family 3 metres by 4 metres and 5 people live here?
MAN SYNC: Five people live here.
DICK SYNC: Five. This is mother?
MAN SYNC: Mother.
MS People getting off boat (Music)
DICK VO: It would be much worse if Bangladesh hadn't made heroic efforts to curb its population growth.
WS Boat driving down river
WS Banks of river with boats and Mr Tanner might be surprised to learn that traders Australia is currently growing even faster than here.
WS Dick and Dr Kim Streatfield walking DR KIM SYNC: Australia needs to set in emergency clinic itself as an example as well of how to deal with population issues.
WS Dick and Dr Kim Streatfield in In this ward everybody gets mixed, you emergency clinic know, adults and children.
DICK VO: For 18 years Australian Dr Kim Streatfield has been living here and studying the connections between
MS Baby girl lying on bed population and health. Every summer the grounds of his research centre in Dakar become an emergency clinic treating a thousand patients a day for severe diarrhoea.
CU Woman DR KIM: There is not enough water, we're
25 Dick Smith‟s Population Puzzle
Vision Audio in
MS Woman trying to feed child Dakar the reason you're seeing so many people here today is that
MS Dick and Dr Kim Streatfield we are at the bottom of the Dakar water table, the upper water table, it's been dropping at 3 metres a year. There's no way that can recharge during the monsoon Super: Dr Kim Streatfield with this kind of infrastructure population living on top of the aquifer, there's no way we can recharge the International Centre for Diarrhoeal aquifer. This is a very serious shortage Disease Research, Bangladesh that we're facing.
MS Nurse in emergency clinic pouring DICK VO: Despite the acute situation milk every year this centre and others like it are losing their best trained doctors, nurses and computer specialists to countries like Australia.
MS Doctor checking IV for patient DICK SYNC: Kim, have you lost any staff when it comes to
MS Dick and Dr Kim Streatfield people heading off overseas to greener fields?
DR KIM SYNC: I have, I lost my office manager last week and three computer programmers to Canada within the last 18 months or so.
WS Doctors sitting at desk in emergency And this centre loses staff at the rate clinic probably of 100 a year.
MS Dick and Dr Kim Streatfield It's just happening every week, every week. And it's immoral.
WS Patients in emergency clinic DICK VO: As a rich country Australia can't ignore the population problems elsewhere but we're not helping by plundering poorer nations of the people they can least afford to lose.
Medical staff coming from developing DICK VO: Last year two thirds of countries in 2009 Australia's doctors and nurses were recruited from the world's poorest Nurses 2780 nations. And why are we looking to the developing world to fill gaps in our work Doctors 3085 force? Because
MS Billboard it's a hell of a lot easier and cheaper than training our own people. ROSS SYNC: The problem with trying to Footage of „Insight – A bigger solve skills shortages by just turning on Australia‟ featuring Ross Gittins and the immigration tap and bringing in the Dick Smith people we need is that you create a disincentive for employers to do what they should be doing which is training enough Australians. They don't train enough Australians because they know all they have to do is run to the Government and say let in some more skilled people.
DICK SYNC: We do it, the easiest way we 26 Dick Smith‟s Population Puzzle
Vision Audio can and the cheapest way and if you can simply bring someone in as a skilled immigrant, not do any of the training, it's the best way to go. A recent Government report showed that we have something like 4 million people functionally illiterate. They could be trained. It's hard work to train them but there's plenty of people here.
MCU Back view of Dick walking up (Music) hallway of office DICK VO: It's nothing short of a national disgrace that so many
MS Pans down from window to Dick Australians are not receiving the skills walking along corridor they need to find meaningful work in our modern economy. People like I met at this adult
WS Students in adult literacy class literacy class. sitting at table WOMAN SYNC: OK,
MCU Woman speaking to class does anybody know what a search engine is?
MCU Two students DICK VO: For one reason or another
WS Students at table looking at teacher millions of Australians are falling in front of white board through the cracks in our education system.
MCU Man in orange t-shirt DICK SYNC: How old are you now?
MAN SYNC: 32.
CU Dick Smith pans to MCU Man with DICK SYNC: You're 32 and how old was it glasses and red t-shirt when you left school, what about 13 or 14?
MAN SYNC: I didn't go to school, Dick.
DICK SYNC: You didn't really go to school.
MAN SYNC: I went in one door and straight back out the other.
MS Students sitting at table WOMAN SYNC: I come here as a bride. I didn't study English, this is the first time here.
MS Dick and students seated around When I first came here I found it like it table was really, really difficult for me. Sometimes I started like crying, I couldn't understand anything.
CU Man DICK SYNC: What I'd like to see is
CU Dick Smith Australian business concentrating on training people, increasing the skills of our own work force before just lazily taking people from overseas and would you
27 Dick Smith‟s Population Puzzle
Vision Audio like to learn more skills?
ALL: Yes.
DICK SYNC: Unanimous and like to get a better job?
ALL: Yes.
DICK SYNC: Or in some cases a job at all. And I think I mentioned to you, I had a speech defect when I was 8 years of age but I did OK.
MAN SYNC: You speak very well now.
DICK SYNC: A bit of practice. People say I speak too much.
MAN SYNC: Practice makes perfect.
MS Panning from one end of group to DICK VO: It disappoints me that big other business and the Government can just throw away so many local people while they pursue their dream for a big Australia.
TONY JONES SYNC: Got another question on Footage „Q&A‟ featuring Dick Smith this topic, it's a video question sent in video question by a rather well known businessman in fact, Dick Smith.
DICK SYNC: My question's to Heather Ridout. Heather, you've been a supporter of high immigration levels but you're also on the board of Skills Australia. How can you support such a large influx of foreign workers when you know Australian workers are being abandoned when it comes to training?
HEATHER RIDOUT SYNC: Thanks, Dick Smith for your question. It's actually 7 million Australians between the age of 15 and 64 that don't have the basic literacy and numeracy skills required for modern workplace it's a very, very damning statistic and it comes from a major survey and it hasn't improved in 10 years so there's no doubt we've got to do something about that issue.
TONY JONES SYNC: Is Dick Smith right in his assumption that bringing in skilled immigrants actually makes the incentive for skilling up those functionally illiterate workers less likely?
HEATHER RIDOUT SYNC: No, it doesn't, it makes it - they're complementary measures.
BOB CARR SYNC: You've got a skills shortage in one sector of the economy because of booming activity. You import a tradesperson to fill that shortage. The tradesperson brings his or her family. So 28 Dick Smith‟s Population Puzzle
Vision Audio studies have shown that that adds more to the demand for schools, hospitals, peak hour transport and the rest. We're going to have to accept at some time in our history, as the world will, a stabilisation of population. You can't - my challenge to the advocates of high population is when will you ever be satisfied?
WS Time lapse crowds crossing street DICK VO: The mess over training is just one
WS Slo-mo crowds of people example of how no-one is joining up the dots on the real consequences
WS People in shopping mall of an increasing population and it doesn't get any dumber than our approach to climate change. On one hand
MCU Wind turbine, pans down to show the Government wants to reduce our other turbines in distance greenhouse gas emissions but on the other hand it's pushing for population growth. Super: Capital Wind Farm Bungendore It's the most ridiculously contradictory NSW thing I've ever heard of, just like these wind turbines. Great for the environment until you realise that every watt of energy generated here is dedicated to powering Sydney's hugely expensive desalination plant solely so the city can cope with more people.
WS Group of wind turbines pans down to BOB BIRRELL SYNC: And what we've shown in car driving past our work
Super: Professor Bob Birrell is that by far the most significant factor in promoting greenhouse gas emissions in Centre for Population & Urban Research Australia is population growth.
Monash University
WS Bob and Dick walking in parklands DICK VO: Bob Birrell is the grand old man of Australian demographers. He's been a thorn in the side of a dozen immigration ministers. He calls the politicians‟ bluff when it comes to dopey public policy.
MCU Dick Smith DICK SYNC: The Prime Minister is calling on us to cut our greenhouse emissions but do we have a way of doing that while we're increasing our population?
WS UN Climate Change conference WS Dick in hangar drawing on chart on wall Super: UN Climate Change Conference
Copenhagen 2009
MCU Barack Obama at conference BARACK OBAMA: As the world watches us today I think our ability to take collective action is in doubt right now.
MCU Kevin Rudd at conference DICK SYNC: We can't possibly reduce human- induced carbon emissions by 29 Dick Smith‟s Population Puzzle
Vision Audio doubling our population. Now nobody talks about it. Can you imagine at the conference in Copenhagen I was looking on television, I thought surely there will be one person holding up a banner that says “Population?”. There was nobody. And in the Australian media I didn't hear any mention of population.
WS Panning from helicopter in hangar to DICK SYNC: So let's look at the hangar door where Dick enters and population, you know, 4,000 BC, 3,000 BC, starts to draw on chart see it's climbing just very slowly until around about the time of Christ and it's about 150 million and then it gradually climbs but something really strange happens around about 1800 when it's about 1 billion.
MCU Dick Smith DICK SYNC: If global warming is caused by humans we have to at the human side. Presently about 6.7 billion to go to over 9 billion, well there's no way you can increase to 9 billion and let people in India and China raise their material standard of living, which is they should be able to, and reduce human-induced greenhouse gases. It's impossible. We're kidding ourselves.
WS Dick in hangar drawing on chart on Now what could have caused that? Well wall look, let me put in two lines that will give you a hint. Two lines here, one and the other one is here around about 1850 to 2050, now that's the time of cheap fossil fuels.
MCU Dick as he looks at chart Now if you saw a graph like that at the stock market what do you think would happen next?
MS Rear shot of Dick looking at chart hanging on wall
MCU Chart being held by Dick
MS Dick speaking at conference, pans to A crash! Now let me hand that around. If audience members looking at chart we go to 9.1 billion and we already have 1 billion people facing malnutrition at the moment we're going to add another 2 billion to it and we're being told at the same time that climate change is going to affect the output of our crops, they're going to go down.
Archive footage of fruit MAN: Australia has been able to meet all her own dried fruit requirements since 1912 and since that time she has built up a healthy export market.
WS Dick shopping in fruit shop DICK VO: We don't have to argue about
30 Dick Smith‟s Population Puzzle
Vision Audio what's causing climate change.
MCU Dick walking past celery display It's the effects that matter. Australia's
MS Dick picking up cabbage and placing no land of plenty anymore. in trolley
MCU Dick as he shops in fruit shop Sure, we export huge
MS Dick picking up watermelon and places quantities of wheat and meat but we're in trolley increasingly importing more and more of our food.
MCU Potatoes being picked up by Dick Australia's farming has been hard hit by drought.
MCU Panning apples up to price tag which The future is uncertain. There simply then shows image of orchard isn't enough water to go around.
(Music)
CU Photos of peaches and trees in album DICK: Everything is so rich, the peaches, is this a peach tree?
BARRY: These are peach trees, yes.
WS Dick and Barry Mangelsdorf seated at DICK SYNC: So how many years, over 50 kitchen table years of production on the farm?
DICK VO: Barry Mangelsdorf's family
B&W Photo of Barry as a kid with other has been growing fruit in Loxton on the siblings Murray for almost 60 years.
CU Photos in album BARRY: 1954 we came here and that was prior to us
Super: Barry Mangelsdorf coming, they come up to see the house being built so it would have been early Citrus Owner '54.
MS Looking over the shoulders of Dick DICK SYNC: Some Dick Smith glasses here. and Barry looking at photo album BARRY: That's right. They were fashionable back then. They're coming back again now.
CU Photo of Barry DICK SYNC: Now your Dad, he was a soldier.
BARRY SYNC: Yes,
B&W Photo of Mr Mangelsdorf in military Dad served in the Second World War and the uniform whole Loxton irrigation area was set up as a soldier settler's property and given basically
Footage of farm a house and about somewhere between 25 to 30 acres of land.
(Music)
31 Dick Smith‟s Population Puzzle
Vision Audio DICK VO: There's a sad irony in all this, once the Government paid Barry's family to settle here, now they're paying him to leave.
WS Bulldozer knocking down trees With the Murray running dry small irrigators are being paid to bulldoze their crops and to burn their trees. It's costing nearly$60 million for 300 Riverland farmers to abandon the land. All because more people need more water.
WS Knocked down trees, bulldozer in DICK SYNC: Barry, it must be very background knocking down more trees
WS Dick and Barry walking towards sad to be burning this. bundle of knocked down trees BARRY SYNC: Well, it's something we don't really - didn't expect to do in our lifetime. It's as simple as that.
MS Barry and Dick putting papers in Whack that on there. amongst trees
MCU Newspapers in trees being lit DICK: And are you telling me the Government actually came along and said we're going to pay you over $200,000 to stop growing food/
MS Panning L-R land to burning bundle BARRY: That's exactly right, Dick, just of trees to pay us an amount for our water and then pay us some money for exit so we can go on with our lives.
DICK: Do you see a conflict there where you're being
WS Dick and Barry talking with smoke paid to go off the land to stop growing blowing in front of them food but we're going to increase the population by 60%?
WS Burning trees in foreground, Barry BARRY: We need the food production in and Dick in background watching these areas. I think that if we grow less food we won't be able to sustain the 36 million population.
DICK: I just think
WS Rear shot of Dick and Barry as they it's very sad to see what's happening to watch burning trees you. I don't think city people have any inkling that you're being paid to stop
MS Panning down from sky to rear shot of growing food that we need. Dick and Barry as they watch burning trees MAN: In the journey from
B&W Archival footage of settlements source to mouth you have seen the growth and development of settlement along Australia's greatest river. The picture today is a splendid one
WS Cracked dry earth but the effort is not finished. The
32 Dick Smith‟s Population Puzzle
Vision Audio magnificent valley of the Murray River is too precious
MS Skeleton of animal on earth to be spoilt by carelessness and indifference.
EWS Dick walking through outback DICK VO: You can't suddenly generate towards ruins water. This is an arid country. We are cyclic, we have droughts from time to time and so there's no doubt in my mind we can't support 35 million people but
MS Stone walls of ruins what's worse we've been providing food for the rest of the world. Well, we won't be able to supply that food. I wonder if we're going to have enough food for ourselves.
MCU Dick answer mobile phone as he DICK SYNC: Hello. walks along track
MCU Rear shot of Dick talking on mobile What's happened? phone as he walks down track NEWSREADER: The Prime Minister has
Footage ABC News – Population Control highlighted the importance of population growth by announcing a new portfolio and elevating the issue to the ministry. Tony Burke has become Australia's first Population Minister.
MCU Dick‟s feet as he walks DICK SYNC: I can't believe it,
MCU Dick talking on mobile phone as he they're going to appoint a minister for walks along track population.
Super: Canberra TONY BURKE SYNC: Population pressures hit different parts of the nation differently. Tony Burke
Population Minister
MCU Dick talking on mobile phone as he What four months ago no mention of walks along track population now we have a minister, what is it a minister for population? MS Dick walking along sandy track NEWSREADER: He's been given 12 months to come up with Australia's first comprehensive population strategy.
DICK: I'm amazed that something can happen so quickly but I still think it's going to be years away before we actually get a proper decision made by Government. Thank you, good on you.
MCU Dick talking on mobile phone as he walks along track DICK SYNC: We now have a Minister for Population. MCU Dick Smith addressing audience Now I'm a bit scared he's actually a
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Vision Audio minister for population growth. Yes, MS Rear shot of Dick as he address audience because everything he's talked about is well, I'll be looking at how we can cope with the 36 million, not one of our politicians is saying do we actually want 36 million, wouldn't it be better if we had 24 or 25. When you MCU Dick Smith addressing audience decide to get on to an aeroplane if you send your family off in an aeroplane it's a 1 in 5 million chance of them being hurt, pretty good odds. MCU Dick flying helicopter I'm told by the scientists that it's about a 30% chance that my little granddaughter won't have enough food to eat at the end of the century.
RADIO ANNOUNCER: Lindsay Tanner, of course, is the Minister for Finance and he's on the line, good afternoon, Lindsay.
LINDSAY TANNER: Good afternoon. Look, the comments that Mr Smith have made WS Shots of national park from window of helicopter today are completely absurd and totally irresponsible suggesting that we're going to see starvation in Australia in the not too distant future. We currently export about 60% of our total agricultural production, so in other words we are already feeding a lot more people than are living in Australia so the kind of florid claims being made by Dick Smith are grossly irresponsible and completely absurd. MS Shots of landscape from window from helicopter DICK VO: Well, let‟s go MS Shots of coastline from window from helicopter and see if our farmers agree with the Minister. WS Helicopter flying over farming land Whenever I fly over Australia I see prime farmland being turned over to developers. WS Panning across farm land to auction sign What happens if one day we need it for our food production? WS Panning orchard in Hawkesbury This is the Hawkesbury district, virtually the last farmland within the Sydney basin. WS Dick and John Maguire walking through orchard Very soon this rich soil will be buried under yet another suburb on the city's ever expanding fringe. MS Dick and John walking amongst orchard John Maguire's beautiful little orchard seems doomed. MCU John Maguire JOHN SYNC: I am an endangered species. Super: John Maguire Orchardist
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Vision Audio EWS Panning land to construction of new housing If this land is settled for housing then there's no turning back, it's prime agricultural land, it has the WS New house being constructed great potential for food production and if MCU John Maguire the land is gone, then it's gone forever. WS Housing development JULIAN CRIBB: One of the big mistakes we made in Australia WS Billboard advertising land sale is to sacrifice nearly all our good country, WS Julian Cribb and Dick in vacant land our country that combines reliable rainfall with good soils to other uses. It will never come back into agriculture. WS Panning down from tree to Dick and Julian sitting on bench A lot of people accuse me of being alarmist.
DICK VO: Julian Cribb is one of the most respected observers of Australia's rural industries. He's deeply troubled about the future MS Panning from grass up tree with houses in background security of our food supplies. I think we'd be taking a big chance with the sustainability of this country MCU Julian Cribb because we're running out of land, water, Super: Professor Julian Cribb fuel, fertiliser, science and technology Author all the things that we need to grow more food plus we've got climate change on top. WS Tractor ploughing field The average Australian farmer grows say 2 tonnes of wheat to the hectare. MS Panning from tractor wheel to plougher To feed the population in 2050 that farmer's going to have to increase that to about 5 tonnes per hectare. MCU Julian Cribb Massive increase in output and he's going to have less rainfall to do it and he's going to have more WS Tractor ploughing field degraded soil to do it on and he's going to have very expensive or unavailable fuel to do it with. MCU Soil being ploughed DICK: So you're telling me that no-one really knows whether we can feed 36 million? MCU Julian Cribb JULIAN SYNC: No, no-one really knows whether we can feed 36 million people. MCU Dick Smith in hangar DICK SYNC: This is the most important thing I've ever done in my life. It's incredible because I've done very well out of Australia but I see terrible
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Vision Audio problems coming for future generations and I don't want them to look back and say well people like Dick Smith, they were supposed to be influential, why didn't they do anything? And I'm going to spend the rest of my life trying to get a proper policy, not just for Australia but for the world on population so we know that, using that terrible word sustainable, we know that we can live for thousands of years in on this Earth in balance, not completely ruin it so in effect people are going to starve in the future. WS Panning around farm land DICK VO: So let's sum this up. What are the arguments in favour of a big Australia? Graphics Plan then crossed out Does anyone have a plan? Well no. Graphic Environment then crossed out Have we solved the water and environmental issues? Nope.
Graphics Do we need more people to defend Defence then crossed out ourselves? That won't work.
Graphics Is mass immigration an effective way of solving skills shortages or an ageing Skills Shortages population? No there are better alternatives at home. Ageing and then crossed out
Graphic And lastly are our current policies helping the rest of the world? What do you Foreign Policy ? think?
MCU Kevin Rudd on „7:30 Report‟ KEVIN RUDD SYNC: I actually believe in a big Australia.
MCU Tony Abbott giving speech TONY ABBOTT SYNC: My instinct is to extend to as many people as possible the Super: Tony Abbot freedom and benefits of life in Australia.
Opposition Leader
MCU Julia Gillard on „Lateline‟ JULIA GILLARD SYNC: We obviously believe that there needs to be a discussion about population.
WS People lined up at airport DICK SYNC: Politicians
MCU Dick Smith will come around, they rarely lead, they normally follow, they'll find that 90% of Australians want this issue to be looked at and I think 90% would rather we don't increase to 35 or 40 million people.
MS Kevin Rudd and staff walking through NEWSREADER: In breaking news tonight Parliament House there are leadership rumblings within
WS Julia Gillard walking through the Rudd Government. Parliament House NEWSREADER: Australia is on the cusp of
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Vision Audio having its first female prime minister.
MS Julia Gillard, Wayne Swan and others MAN: The new leader of the Federal leaving caucus meeting passed media Parliamentary Labor Party elected unopposed is Julia Gillard.
MAN: The issues now
MCU Kevin Rudd giving final speech as that Kevin Rudd was dealing with and PM struggling with in recent
MS Julia Gillard and Quentin Bryce at weeks now all come across her desk. swearing in NEWSREADER: One of her first breaks
Footage from „ABC News Breakfast‟ from Kevin Rudd's policy is Julia Gillard says she's interested in a sustainable Australia and not a big Australia.
MCU Julia Gillard on „Today Show‟ JULIA GILLARD SYNC: Kevin Rudd as prime talking to Laurie Oakes minister indicated that he had a view about a big Australia.
LAURIE OAKES: He did use that phrase.
JULIA: I am –
LAURIE: I'm not sure anyone wants a little Australia.
JULIA: I'm indicating a different approach, Laurie. I think we want an Australia that is sustainable, this place is MS Panning from kitchen sink to Dick our sanctuary, our home, we all wish it Smith sitting at end of bench reading best for the future and I think for the newspaper best future we shouldn't just CU Newspaper front page hurtle down a track. We should pause, we should take a breath. CU Dick Smith reading newspaper WOMAN: Julia Gillard has not committed to Footage of panellists on „Insiders‟ a lesser number, she‟s just said let's just not talk about the big scary number in the future.
BARRIE CASSIDY: On Channel 9 she has now said Tony Burke the Minister for Population now has - I'm not sure if he has a new department or new portfolio but he has a new title it's the Minister for Sustainable Population. Footage of Tony Burke on „ABC News Breakfast‟ TONY BURKE SYNC: I remember meeting with Dick Smith and he had a view that the Government was pretty much hell bent on higher population in a very aggressive way, no matter what. That is not the starting point from the Government.
DICK SYNC: It's fantastic news, a prime minister
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Vision Audio CU Dick Smith who makes it quite clear that she's not addicted to growth. 9 out of 10 Australians will support her. 6 months ago we didn't even talk about population. Of course we still don't have a plan and it's going to be pretty difficult to get our economic system operating without constant growth. I think it will be a new group of young politicians who are going to be forced to solve those problems. MS Dick Smith walking in outback (Music – „Matilda No More‟) WS Dick walking through outback DICK: Do your friends say to you what's your dad doing or are they on side? MCU Dick talking to Jenny on lounge JENNY SYNC: All my friends so far have totally think it's wonderful. Comments like about time someone started to speak about this, fantastic. No, I'm so proud of you. This is the most proud I've ever been of you.
DICK SYNC: Well you got me into it.
JENNY SYNC: Oh, excellent. WS Dick Smith walking through outback (Music – „Matilda No More‟) Written and Directed by Simon Nasht
Producers Anna Cater, Simon Nasht
Editor Andrew Arestides ASE
Narrator Dick Smith
Cinematographer Peter Coleman ACS
Composer Carlo Giacco
Animation and Titles Design Al Moore
Production Assistant Diane de Zylva
Location Sound Ben Crane, Max Hensser, Leo Sullivan, Jonathan Tan, Graham Wyse Ben Crane, Max Hensser, Leo Sullivan, Jonathan Tan, Graham Wyse
Sound mix Luke Mynott
Specialist photography Keith Loutit
Additional Camera Simon Nicholls, Peter Zakharov,
38 Dick Smith‟s Population Puzzle
Vision Audio Oliver Nasht
Additional Editing Annamaria Talas
Additional Graphics Lisa Stonham
Research Sarah Gilbert, Diane de Zylva, Alison Rourke, Lisa Upton
Archive Research Anna Cater, Brian May
Bangladesh Liaison SRB Arshad Ron
Trumpeter Nick Hewett
Singing Coach Amandine Petit
Make-up Margaret Ashton
Transcripts Kerrie Till
Production Accountants Amanda Birchnoff, Karin Driscoll, Gary Williams
Legals Lloyd Hart, Nicholas Pullen
Stills Photography Pip Smith, Mark Rogers, Peter Coleman, SRB Arshad Ron
Dubbing Facility Leffler Post
Online Facility The Lab Colourist Peter Simpson
Online Editors Jo Spillane, Will O‟Connell
Sound Editors Luke Mynott, Wes Chew
Insurance H W Wood Australia
Archive ABC Department of Parliamentary Services Herald and Weekly Times
39 Dick Smith‟s Population Puzzle
Vision Audio Photographic Collection ITN Source National Film & Sound Archive Nine Network Radio 2GB Screen Australia Sky News Seven Network Special Broadcasting Corporation
Music
“Walk Into My Soul” Written by B. Smith, M. Walker Mushroom Music Publishing, Sony/ATV Music Publishing (Australia) Pty Ltd Performed by Broderick Smith Licensed courtesy of Liberation Music
“Little Boxes” Written by: Malvina Reynolds Schroder Music Co Administered by: Essex Music Australia Pty Ltd Performed by Eleanor Kozak and Carlo Giacco
“On The Road (A soldier‟s song)” Written by V. Soloviev–Sedoi Composed by M. Doudine Performed by the Red Army Choir Published by Editions FGL © FGL Productions S.A under license from Austerlitz Sarl www.fglmusic.com
“Matilda No More” Words and music by Eric Bogle © Larrikin Music Publishing Pty Ltd Used with permission Performed by Slim Dusty featuring Kasey Chambers Courtesy of EMI Music Australia Pty Ltd
Our thanks to Peter Hall
Bill Bachman, Phillip Bullock, Jock Collins, Brad Dillon, Simon Drake, Margot Egan, Barney Foran, Phil Goyen, Alan Jones, Barry Jones, Gavin Jones, Ned Lander, Sandra McCarthy, Joy McKean, Robert Kewley, Glenn Mitchell, Phil Murrell, Julia Overton, Scott Robertson, Norman Thompson, Shane Fernando, Mele Panapa, Joaquin Forsyth, Sidney Forsyth, Patricia Barbe, Zoe Morin, Amber Murphy, Indiana Murphy, Samantha Thompson, Dylan Thompson, Marcus Hahn, Somboun Phonesouk, Dasun Abeygoonawardana, Santhara
40 Dick Smith‟s Population Puzzle
Vision Audio Silva, Melanie McLean, Dean Austin, Katherine Ostin, Saskia and Larissa Shortus
Dick Smith was a contributor to the funding of this film
With assistance from the Documentary Australia Foundation
Produced in association with the ABC
ABC Commissioning Editor: Stuart Menzies
Produced with assistance from Screen NSW a Mitra Films and Real Pictures production
Principal Investor Screen Australia
© 2010 Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Screen Australia, Screen NSW, Mitra Films Pty Ltd and Real Pictures Pty Ltd
www.abc.net.au/tv/populationpuzzle
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