Tony Smith (Casey, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is addressed to the Treasurer. Would the Treasurer inform the House of recent trends in the birth rate of Australia? Is an increase in the birth rate positive for Australia’s future?

Peter Costello (Higgins, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for Casey for his question and look forward to his own contribution to the birth rate next month—and we thank him for doing his duty. There are reports in today’s newspapers that 1 July 2004 was a record day for the number of births in Australia, which was the day of course that the maternity payment, or baby bonus, was introduced. Medical advice is that no-one should delay the delivery of a child, which would put either the mother’s or the child’s health at risk. But 1 July 2004 was the day that the maternity payment, or baby bonus, was introduced and it was in the sum of $3,000. Since then the sum has been indexed and increased and currently stands at $3,166, and on 1 July the maternity payment, or baby bonus, will be increasing to $4,000 for children that are born after that date. The government has also announced another increase—on 1 July 2008, when the maternity payment, or baby bonus, will increase to $5,000.

Whether it is the introduction of the baby bonus, whether it is the $600 increase in the family tax benefit—remember that payment that ‘did not exist’: it seems to be paid to millions of Australians—whether it is the changes in the taper rate for family tax benefit or whether it is the record number of child-care places that are being delivered under this government, the good news is that for calendar year 2004 Australia recorded the highest number of births in 12 years, the highest since 1992. In fact, for the year ended 31 December 2005 there were 261,400 births in Australia, a 2.4 per cent increase on 2004.

It seems that many Australians are taking up the challenge to have one for mum, one for dad and one for the country, and that is a positive thing for Australia. It is a positive thing for Australia because it represents confidence in our future. It is a positive thing for Australia because with an ageing of the population an increase in the fertility rate over the long term—not in the short term but over the long term—will do something to deflect the problems of the ageing of the population in 2040, 2050 and beyond. So the family-friendly policies of this government are helping millions of Australian families. There is a welcome pick-up in the birth rate in Australia and we would encourage many more Australians to benefit from this government’s family-friendly policies.