PHOTOSBindi Irwin Reportedly Quits Ambassador Position Ahead Of Wedding To Chandler Powell
Nov. 27 2019, Published 3:28 p.m. ET
Bindi Irwin reportedly resigned as Sustainable Population Australia's youth ambassador on November 26. The SPA focuses on ending population growth in Australia, which includes reducing immigration. Bindi’s mother and fiancé are both American-born immigrants.
Bindi, 21, accepted the youth ambassador role in 2013 after public statements regarding lowering the population. She reportedly wrote a letter to Hillary Clinton and addressed the Earth’s growing population as the “elephant in the room.” “I believe that most problems in the world today, such as climate change, stem from one immense problem which seems to be the 'elephant in the room' that no-one wants to talk about,” she wrote.
She also interviewed for the documentary, Surviving Earth, in which she spoke passionately about controlling the population in 2013. “Over the years, we've developed this idea we never have to worry about controlling our numbers, we never have to worry about how many people we have, this is how we've always lived,” Bindi said.
According to their website, Sustainable Population Australia is “an independent not-for-profit organization seeking to protect the environment and our quality of life by ending population growth in Australia and globally, while rejecting racism and coercive population control. SPA is an environmental advocacy organization, not a political party.” In a discussion paper released by the SPA this month, the group argued that the country should reduce immigration as a matter of urgency.
“The fundamental driver of growth in Australia’s population is the level of immigration. This is something that is within the direct control of Australian governments, not a fact of nature. To end population growth and help solve the infrastructure problem, Australians must demand of their elected representatives a major reduction in immigration, at least back to the long-term 20th century average net overseas migration of 50 to 70,000 per year,” the paper read.
In her letter of resignation, Bindi allegedly wrote that she was “retiring and no longer wanted to be mentioned.” She also cited a “conflict in capacities,” which seemingly resonates with how her loved ones immigrated to Australia in the past twenty years.
Bindi’s mother, Terri Irwin, and fiancé, Chandler Powell, are both immigrants from the United States. Terri, 55, is an Oregon native. She met Steve Irwin in 1991, and they married the following year. She became an Australian citizen in 2006.
Chandler, 22, is from Florida, and he met the television personality in 2013. He moved to Australia in 2018 to be with her, and got engaged in July 2019. The couple plans on tying the knot in 2020. Bindi’s brother Robert will walk her down the aisle at their ceremony, which will reportedly take place at the Australia Zoo.
