With the island now able to start considering the most potentially far-reaching consultative document seen for more than 50 years – that dealing with population management – there are some guidelines to keep in mind.

The first, as we touched on yesterday, is the readiness of individuals and organisations to take out of the massive report what they want.

Whether that is the consequences of a four-year permit on the recruitment and retention of teachers, the rights of returning Guernsey people or what might happen to the open market, the most important thing is to have a proper debate about the concept of managing the population.

Whether islanders want that or not, it is inevitable for two reasons. Firstly, there are currently no effective controls and, secondly, the existing Housing Control Laws are no longer fit for purpose. In essence, Guernsey has the choice of finding a replacement or, because of human rights issues, eventually being told to stop using the current legislation.

Population is already an issue. The States decided in 2007 to freeze the number of people here, although it knew that it had no effective way of implementing that decision.

But the issue is much wider than just numbers and whether the island is already too crowded.

The community cannot be self-sufficient in the people it needs to operate essential public services or the businesses it relies on for goods and services. Immigration is essential for the well-being of the island – but needs to be managed.

Equally, the age and skills profile of the island’s residents has a material impact on the economy, individual prosperity and tax rates.

As the existing population ages, there are proportionately fewer people of working age available to fund the support the older will inevitably require and they will have to pay more as a result.

The Population Policy Group has put a comprehensive document together and covered the bases that are essential for the economic and social future of the island.

It is difficult to over-emphasise the significance of the consultation and, as islanders start to respond to it, there is a further consideration.

The key to success is what sort of island we wish to hand on to future generations, not a knee-jerk reaction to elements of the report.