Labor says investment in early childhood education and care, such as a possible move to universal access for families, is a better way to address Australia’s declining birthrate, rejecting the need for a new “baby bonus”. Source: The Guardian.
Monday’s intergenerational report showed that more Australians will be dying than being born in 40 years’ time, a point already reached by countries including South Korea, Italy, Germany and Japan.
It is the first time the three-yearly report has forecast more deaths than births.
Lower fertility rates will drive slower population growth, according to Treasury’s report. Australia’s fertility rate is projected to decline to 1.34 by 2065–66, down from 1.5 children per woman in 2030–31.
Fertility rates have been below the replacement rate of 2.1 children per woman for 50 years, contributing to a projected drop in population of 1.7 million people and an increase in the projected median age by 1.7 years in 2065–66.
The report says a complex mix of economic, social and cultural factors is to blame, including greater access to contraception, more time spent in education, career development, longer periods living with parents, and delays in forming partnerships and having children.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers said fewer families with more than three children was part of the drop.
He said federal Labor was making it easier for adults to choose to have more children if they wished, citing expanded paid parental leave, superannuation settings and access to childcare.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese wants universal childcare to be part of his political legacy, and the government has commissioned consulting giant Deloitte to help design a universal system. Its report on the policy “pathway” is due in time for the next election.
Liberal frontbencher Andrew Hastie said he was “open minded” about an economic incentive, like a return to the Howard Government’s baby bonus payment.
“The real problem is of course that family formation is being delayed because people can’t get into home soon enough, and families are having less children,” he told ABC TV.
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Universal early childhood education better than baby bonus to increase Australia’s birthrate, Labor says (By Tom McIlroy, The Guardian)
