SA Economy

[Nathan]

Green the desert? We can't even green the parklands.

[rev]

We should be greening the desert like the Israelis. We have plenty of sun to generate energy and water to desalinate...FFS! Is that a good suggestion?

Cheers

We're not at the stage of needing to desalinate water for irrigation, but it's worth noting that the Northern Adelaide Irrigation Scheme is finally underway and will make enough recycled water available to producers on the plains to hopefully massively boost our food exports.

Id say we've been at the stage of needing desal water as a major source of supply for a long time now, here and on the east coast.

[SRW]

We should be greening the desert like the Israelis. We have plenty of sun to generate energy and water to desalinate...FFS! Is that a good suggestion?

Cheers

We're not at the stage of needing to desalinate water for irrigation, but it's worth noting that the Northern Adelaide Irrigation Scheme is finally underway and will make enough recycled water available to producers on the plains to hopefully massively boost our food exports.

Id say we've been at the stage of needing desal water as a major source of supply for a long time now, here and on the east coast.

It's different thing to use desal for irrigation however. Especially when we've barely tapped the potential of recycling the water we already have.

[SRW]

The ABC's doing an Our Changing State series that 'looks at how SA is changing and the challenges it must overcome', with part one below:

Adelaide is moving into the 'grey zone', and there's one thing that could fix it
Rebecca Puddy, 8 December 2019, ABC News

For years, South Australia has faced an almost insurmountable problem — the lure of Melbourne.

Key points:

• South Australia's population growth rate is almost half the national rate
• The ageing population means Adelaide is the first mainland capital city to resemble a regional town
• The state needs to attract a much higher proportion of overseas migrants to beat its ageing demographics

Generations of young people have left South Australia in search of adventure and work, with one third of the 28,926 people who moved interstate last year destined for Victoria.

As the fastest-growing city in Australia, Melbourne is booming, with its rapid speed of growth bringing its own challenges.

But Adelaide tells a different story, amid warnings it is for the first time entering a danger zone where the ageing demographics of the capital city means it is starting to look more like a regional town

Read full article...

[Ho Really]

We're not at the stage of needing to desalinate water for irrigation, but it's worth noting that the Northern Adelaide Irrigation Scheme is finally underway and will make enough recycled water available to producers on the plains to hopefully massively boost our food exports.

Id say we've been at the stage of needing desal water as a major source of supply for a long time now, here and on the east coast.

It's different thing to use desal for irrigation however. Especially when we've barely tapped the potential of recycling the water we already have.

Not sure how much recycled water you'd need to make the desert blossom SRW, but desal is where we should be looking if we want to green things up. As for recycled water and catching as much water as possible before it is wasted into the sea, I mentioned an idea years ago where they should dig up the southern parklands and build huge underground reservoirs to store as much catchment water as possible. This could be used to green Adelaide further. It will also alleviate any possibility of a once in a hundered-year flood crippling our Airport and western suburbs. The Brownhill-Keswick Creek mitigation is small time. Then the Keswick Creek drain can be used for a light rail to the Airport.

Cheers

[Goodsy]

we need to move to sustainable agriculture practices before looking at using desalinated water for irrigation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4OBcRHX1Bc

[rev]

we need to move to sustainable agriculture practices before looking at using desalinated water for irrigation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4OBcRHX1Bc

Wouldn't using water from a desalination plant powered primarily by renewable energy be more sustainable then draining the Murray?
Wouldn't 'greening' parts of it be better then leaving it as a desert? Even if it's not all entirely greened for farming, we would benefit from it.
Instead of using the same land over and over for farming which isn't great for the soil, why not alternate between sites? It's not like we're strapped for land.

[SBD]

we need to move to sustainable agriculture practices before looking at using desalinated water for irrigation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4OBcRHX1Bc

Wouldn't using water from a desalination plant powered primarily by renewable energy be more sustainable then draining the Murray?
Wouldn't 'greening' parts of it be better then leaving it as a desert? Even if it's not all entirely greened for farming, we would benefit from it.
Instead of using the same land over and over for farming which isn't great for the soil, why not alternate between sites? It's not like we're strapped for land.

Goyder's Line is quite visible as a change in vegetation. I suspect that reflects a change in soil type or fertility, not just of rainfall, even if it is a consequence of long-term rainfall levels.

Water is not the only difference between a desert and lush farmland. I wonder what the total water output is from Bolivar, compared to what would be possible from a desalination plant. I don't think there is an ecological reason for any of that to go out to sea, and it would be cheaper than desalinating seawater.

[ynotsfables]

The ABC's doing an Our Changing State series that 'looks at how SA is changing and the challenges it must overcome', with part one below:

Adelaide is moving into the 'grey zone', and there's one thing that could fix it
Rebecca Puddy, 8 December 2019, ABC News

For years, South Australia has faced an almost insurmountable problem — the lure of Melbourne.

Key points:

• South Australia's population growth rate is almost half the national rate
• The ageing population means Adelaide is the first mainland capital city to resemble a regional town
• The state needs to attract a much higher proportion of overseas migrants to beat its ageing demographics

Generations of young people have left South Australia in search of adventure and work, with one third of the 28,926 people who moved interstate last year destined for Victoria.

As the fastest-growing city in Australia, Melbourne is booming, with its rapid speed of growth bringing its own challenges.

But Adelaide tells a different story, amid warnings it is for the first time entering a danger zone where the ageing demographics of the capital city means it is starting to look more like a regional town

Read full article...

Personally i think Melbourne is out of control and they would get them selves in more serious trouble with their unsustainable population explosion before we do with our population growth at half of the national average. I think Adelaide is chugging along quite fine with its population growth at about .07% last time I checked,( correct me if I'm wrong). However the article saying that we are resembling a regional country town because of our ageing demographics, in my opinion is a crock of shit. What country town even comes close to resembling Adelaide, look at our city for example, according to these forums we average ten to fifteen new high rise developments in our CBD a year since 2005, is that not growth, can Alice Springs or Toowoomba boast that.
Never the less our population is not going backwards, and sure there is always room for improvement, and i know that there are far bigger cities than Melbourne in the world that are doing just fine, but we do need to celebrate our achievements every now and then and stop letting this negative press get to us, our future really isn't looking that bad.

Cheers

[Will]

The ABC's doing an Our Changing State series that 'looks at how SA is changing and the challenges it must overcome', with part one below:

Adelaide is moving into the 'grey zone', and there's one thing that could fix it
Rebecca Puddy, 8 December 2019, ABC News


For years, South Australia has faced an almost insurmountable problem — the lure of Melbourne.

Key points:

• South Australia's population growth rate is almost half the national rate
• The ageing population means Adelaide is the first mainland capital city to resemble a regional town
• The state needs to attract a much higher proportion of overseas migrants to beat its ageing demographics

Generations of young people have left South Australia in search of adventure and work, with one third of the 28,926 people who moved interstate last year destined for Victoria.


As the fastest-growing city in Australia, Melbourne is booming, with its rapid speed of growth bringing its own challenges.

But Adelaide tells a different story, amid warnings it is for the first time entering a danger zone where the ageing demographics of the capital city means it is starting to look more like a regional town

Read full article...

Typically I would rubbish such articles, but as I get older, I also get more wise or cynical.

I love this state, but it saddens me that no one else shares this perspective. I’m 33 years old. All my creative, ambitious or entrepreneurial friends have left. Only my melancholic or mediocre friends remain. I’m distressed by this, but don’t know what to do.....

[Jaymz]

The last figure I saw was a slight improvement in population growth rate to 0.9%. It all depends how it's reported I guess. I think that 0.9% was for the 12 months to the end of September this year. Which possibly means it is accelerating, so will be interested to see the figure for the 2019 calender year in a month or two.

[ynotsfables]

The ABC's doing an Our Changing State series that 'looks at how SA is changing and the challenges it must overcome', with part one below:

Adelaide is moving into the 'grey zone', and there's one thing that could fix it
Rebecca Puddy, 8 December 2019, ABC News


For years, South Australia has faced an almost insurmountable problem — the lure of Melbourne.

Key points:

• South Australia's population growth rate is almost half the national rate
• The ageing population means Adelaide is the first mainland capital city to resemble a regional town
• The state needs to attract a much higher proportion of overseas migrants to beat its ageing demographics

Generations of young people have left South Australia in search of adventure and work, with one third of the 28,926 people who moved interstate last year destined for Victoria.


As the fastest-growing city in Australia, Melbourne is booming, with its rapid speed of growth bringing its own challenges.

But Adelaide tells a different story, amid warnings it is for the first time entering a danger zone where the ageing demographics of the capital city means it is starting to look more like a regional town

Read full article...

Typically I would rubbish such articles, but as I get older, I also get more wise or cynical.

I love this state, but it saddens me that no one else shares this perspective. I’m 33 years old. All my creative, ambitious or entrepreneurial friends have left. Only my melancholic or mediocre friends remain. I’m distressed by this, but don’t know what to do.....

Rest assured my friend Adelaide's not alone with loosing young bright people, it happens in larger cities too, I'm sure people in Sydney and Melbourne move to London or New York to seek better opportunities too, it's just the law of the jungle, the larger the mass the greater the gravitational pull.
Where we should find solace is in watching this fine young city grow, because that's what it is a young city and the sooner we as a collective come to terms with this and appreciate what we have and the fact that we have an enviable life style, and that we need to work on our strengths and learn from our weaknesses the more we will stop comparing ourselves to other places that have their own trials and tribulations to attend too.

[Ho Really]

Typically I would rubbish such articles, but as I get older, I also get more wise or cynical.

I love this state, but it saddens me that no one else shares this perspective. I’m 33 years old. All my creative, ambitious or entrepreneurial friends have left. Only my melancholic or mediocre friends remain. I’m distressed by this, but don’t know what to do.....

Yes Adelaide and SA are frustrating! But Will, you are living in one of the best places in the world. You know that. You haven't left, neither have we. Why? Because we know this place has potential. All we're lacking is someone with vision and perhaps balls.

Cheers

[rev]

Rest assured my friend Adelaide's not alone with loosing young bright people, it happens in larger cities too, I'm sure people in Sydney and Melbourne move to London or New York to seek better opportunities too, it's just the law of the jungle, the larger the mass the greater the gravitational pull.
Where we should find solace is in watching this fine young city grow, because that's what it is a young city and the sooner we as a collective come to terms with this and appreciate what we have and the fact that we have an enviable life style, and that we need to work on our strengths and learn from our weaknesses the more we will stop comparing ourselves to other places that have their own trials and tribulations to attend too.

Our strengths dont set us apart from others.
What people in this state need to realize is we are in competition.

If this city is content with being an also ran with a participation award, cool, it will keep chugging along stuck in first gear while the next city to surpass us will be the Gold Coast.

Do you think there's no rivalry between Sydney and Melbourne?

[SRW]

However the article saying that we are resembling a regional country town because of our ageing demographics, in my opinion is a crock of shit. What country town even comes close to resembling Adelaide, look at our city for example, according to these forums we average ten to fifteen new high rise developments in our CBD a year since 2005, is that not growth, can Alice Springs or Toowoomba boast that.

These are different things. I agree we are still growing at a reasonable rate, especially when compared to cities in other developed nations. But what the article argues is that our demographic profile is beginning to resemble regional towns -- that is, we will have more people over 60 than we do children under 15. The concern is that increases the economic burden for the city and state through the higher cost of elderly care. I think there may also be opportunity there as automation technologies spread and our health science industry grows. But the response in Australia to generational imbalance has been international migration, and that's what the article argues Adelaide needs more of (beyond stemming the interstate loss and increasing the natural replacement rate).