Bridget Archer (Bass, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you to the member for Fowler her assistance. I rise to speak on this important topic and thank the member for Hughes for raising it here today. I was quite concerned to see these released figures, and they should be ringing alarm bells for the government as well as fertility rates in Australia continue to decline under this government.

The average number of children born to Australian women in 2023 was just 1.5. There is a perfect storm brewing that is impacting on Australians' choices in relation to having children, which, if not corrected, will have long-term consequences.

Increasing cost-of-living pressures are one key issue that has forced Australians to delay having children, and the high cost of housing has made it increasingly difficult for young adults to achieve their homeownership goals prior to starting a family. The Albanese government has failed to manage the economy, resulting in a period of skyrocketing home-grown inflation which is fuelling the current cost-of-living crisis.

Very few Australians can say they are better off than they were almost three years ago, and many are falling behind, despite the Prime Minister's assertions before the last election, when he repeatedly stated that Australians would be better off under him and that no-one would be left behind. Well, they are being left behind—in droves. The employee cost-of-living index shows that for employee households the cost of living is up by 18.9 per cent. We've seen families' standards of living slashed, with the largest fall in real disposable income in the advanced world. Disposable incomes have collapsed by 8.7 per cent under this Labor government—the largest fall since records began. Interest rates have increased 12 times. Mortgage interest payments have tripled. A family with a mortgage is $35,000 worse off. And household savings have collapsed by 10 percentage points.

The government has to date failed to address the housing crisis or the serious cost-of-living pressures facing Australian couples and leading them to have to make the difficult choice between starting a family and paying their bills. It is highly concerning that the government's serious economic and housing mismanagement has forced Australians to delay having children, resulting in this significant decline in fertility rates. The Treasurer says there's nothing to see here, that this is 'the landing we've been planning for and preparing for'. But Australians know there is nothing soft about this landing. Instead, prices are still rising, and Australians have now experienced almost three years of above-band inflation. Australians are feeling the pinch, and that's why inflation needed to be attacked aggressively and early. But Australians are paying the price at the checkout, and cost pressures are eating away at Australian small business margins.

This government has wasted time and squandered opportunities for action. But its members keep repeating their lines: that they've made medicine cheaper, that they've made it cheaper to see a doctor, that they've reduced electricity prices and that they've made child care cheaper. But it is political sleight of hand when rising prices have far outstripped any discount the government might have provided. Worse, it overlooks the fact that doctor and childcare shortages mean that the service can't be accessed anyway.

I recently hosted the shadow minister for early education, Angie Bell, in my electorate, where we heard firsthand about the chronic shortage of childcare places across the region, with waiting lists for places. And I know from talking to many of my constituents that this is a direct issue impacting family decision-making when it comes to starting or adding to their family. If this is what the government thinks is 'all going to plan', Australians should be deeply concerned. Australians are hurting and can't hang on while their government keeps telling them they've never had it so good. And they can't trust this government when it says it's part of their plan—'Just trust us; we're working on it.' I call on the government to better manage the economy and to take action to correct course urgently, starting with MYEFO, and lay out some certainty so that Australians can make decisions about their future with confidence and certainty.

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