Q&A: mining will turn Australia into a third-world country, says ecologist Paul Ehrlich

Ehrlich warns 'you are destroying your life support systems here' and says his prediction of a 90% chance civilisation will collapse in 50 years is based on 'gut feeling'

Australia is "working to become a third-world country" through its economic dependence on mining natural resources for export and reliance on coalmining, according to doomsday ecologist Paul Ehrlich.

Ehrlich made the prediction on the ABC's Q&A program on Monday night, after dismissing the views of other panellists on the question of whether Australia was overpopulated as "mostly nonsense, unfortunately," and before praising the economic theories of electronics retailer Dick Smith.