Budget 2024: Revive baby bonus, says John Howard

John Howard has challenged Jim Chalmers to ‘bring back the baby bonus’ and other policies if the Treasurer is serious about encouraging women to have more children.

Former prime minister John Howard. Picture: Jane Dempster

John Howard has challenged Jim Chalmers to “bring back the baby bonus” and a suite of Coalition policies subsequently dumped by Labor governments if the Treasurer is serious about encouraging women to have more babies.

The former prime minister who along with his treasurer Peter Costello introduced a baby bonus and a range of other family-friendly policies after the election in 1996, has welcomed the Treasurer’s call for more children to halt the dwindling birth rate in Australia.

“We do need more children and there is high immigration because of a dwindling birth rate,” Mr Howard told The Australian on Monday.

“I’m delighted to hear Dr Chalmers promote the birth of more children and invite him to reintroduce the suite of Coalition policies introduced in the 1990s which led to the only rise in the birth rate in 50 years,” he said.

At the time Mr Costello famously asked women to have one baby for them and “one for the country” as he introduced a lump sum baby bonus paid directly to all mothers regardless of income or paid employment.

Last week, Dr Chalmers suggested there might be measures in the budget to boost Australia’s falling birth rate, which was at 1.63 in 2022, below the “replacement rate” of 2.1.

“I know that people will make their own choices and I don’t pretend for a moment that the government should direct those choices, but we want to make it easier for people to have bigger families if they want to,” the Treasurer said.

Part of the aim to increase the birth rate is to lower the pressure on the immigration program which is running at record highs.

Mr Howard said the Coalition had introduced the baby bonus but also the Family Tax A and B as “part of a suite of policies aimed at lifting the fertility rate”.

“Labor walked away from those programs supporting the family,” he said.

Dr Chalmers, who has faced some criticism for suggesting struggling families facing cost-of-living pressures should have more children, is unlikely to revert to a baby bonus in Tuesday’s budget.

“We found a better way to ­support people who make that choice,” he said.