His analysis begins by noting the exceptional speed of Australia's population growth since 2000. On this he cites the demographer Graeme Hugo who has described it as more than three times the average annual increase of industrialised countries. In a series of papers and speeches collected on his website, Thomson argues that such rapid growth imposes high costs upon government budgets, upon natural and urban environments, and upon citizens' finances and lifestyle. Thomson concedes that Labor will not quickly change its pro-growth stance or embrace "population reform", but argues that there is no other solution because the rate of population growth is impoverishing State governments and leading to widespread discontent among voters.