The Basic Arguments:

Population policies, and the need for them, are advanced for two basic sets of reasons. A lower population may be proposed as a solution to environmental pressures, or it may be proposed as an aid to economic development, so that the number of people amongst whom limited resources have to be shared, is not growing too rapidly. These two arguments are sometimes combined into something akin to a "spaceship earth" argument, which Population policies, and the need for limited, and population growth is continuing at a high rate, using up world resources, population growth must be stopped before the whole world dies of starvation.

The environmental argument is one which which is supposed to apply to rich countries tike New Zealand. A growing population uses resources much more rapidly than a static population, and therefore New Zeaand's resources particularly of energy, will be exhausted more quickly if the population is growing. It could, however, be argued that this proposal somewhat ignores the issues: surely a more effective way of constraining excessive depletion of resources is to change the way in which resources are used, rather than limiting population increase. Examples can be given of countries like West Germany, where population growth is effectively nil, but where, nonetheless, environmental degradation continues apace.

The spaceship earth type arguments are also relevant to the New Zealand situation, on the basis that supporters of these arguments see all mankind as being in the one boat, and that therefore, any limitation in New Zealand's population increase helps the world as a whole. Such an argument is readily countered, by asking the question of how it is that New Zealand's 'whites only' immigration policies can allow for any relief of any other part of the world. And further even if there was free immigration to New Zealand, the proportion of the world's population in this country is rather less than a thousandth, practically infinitessimal.