Michael Bayliss has been an activist for the past decade within the environmental and post-growth movements. He is the Communications Manager and former Victoria/Tasmanian President at Sustainable Population Australia (SPA). The focus of his work involves advocacy regarding choice for small families and for working cooperatively with our global neighbours to create equitable societies that do not rely on perpetual growth.
Examples of his written work can be found at Independent Australia, where we was awarded the most read article of 2018. He has produced videos detailing the impacts of endless growth in Australia and has been interviewed extensively in the media, e.g. ABC News24, Jon Faine Conversation Hour, SBS radio.
Previously, he has coordinated various grassroots community groups in Melbourne such as Doing It Ourselves and Gnomes Urban Gardening Network. He is a participant in the international Post Growth Alliance, run by the Post Growth Institute. He co-founded Population Permaculture and Planning (PPP) in 2015 as a means to communicate the critical role that town planning plays in the move towards future sustainable communities. PPP has since delivered workshops to activists and environmentalists across Australia. This year he will be helping to launch the Town Planning Rebellion movement.
Michael takes his policies into his home life, where he lives in an intentional shared-living community based on the Retrosuburbia principles, where he looks after a lush permaculture garden. He writes songs around environmental and climate change grief with his band Shock Octopus.