Time to fix birthrate crisis

A government incentive like the baby bonus scheme of 2002 is desperately needed to encourage people to have babies, a demographic expert has warned. VOTE IN THE POLL

A government incentive such as Peter Costello’s baby bonus is desperately needed to stop children disappearing from the Australian population, a demography expert warns.

The latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows the national birth rate has plummeted to an all-time low of 1.58 babies per woman, well below the rate of 2.1 needed to maintain the population.

Women in the 1960s had a birth rate of 3.55.

In Queensland the rate has dropped from 1.7 in 2019 to 1.6 in 2020.

Social researcher Mark McCrindle said the statistics were worrying.

“We don’t want to see a continuing trend of children disappearing relative to the population,” he said.

“By 2030 we are looking at the median population age being 40 while in the late 1970s it was in the late 20s.

“With the obvious ageing population, we have to look at our future workforce and economy.”

Former Treasurer Peter Costello with newborn babies to promote the 2002 baby bonus scheme.

Mr McCrindle said a scheme similar to that introduced by then Treasurer Mr Costello in 2002, which offered tax concessions and cash payments to parents, should be considered to improve the birth rate. The birth rate then was 1.7.

“It’s time to re-look at some kind of incentive to encourage young couples who are struggling to own a house to commit to having a family,” he said.

The new data shows there has been a reduction in younger women having children but births to those aged between 40 and 44 have tripled over the decades.

Mark McCrindle.

National Association of Specialist Obstetricians and Gynaecologists president Assoc Prof Gino Pecoraro said there were 11,310 fewer births in 2020 than in 2019 “yet our public maternity services are facing crisis across Queensland and indeed, the whole of Australia”.

“Hardly a week seems to go by without hearing stories of overstretched maternity units struggling to provide services to those who need them,” he said.

“There is something seriously wrong with our health system.”

The huge increase in older women giving birth puts further pressure on the maternity wards, the obstetrician said.

Mr McCrindle said the cost of living and unaffordable housing were the key reasons for the lack of babies and young people needed to be encouraged to start a family or add to their family.

“Australia values children and this is the time to show that,” he said.

Originally published as Time to fix birthrate crisis