Australians having fewer Babies

EXPERTS SAY IT COULD HAVE MAJOR CONSEQUENCES

In 2004, then treasurer Peter Costello announced the “baby bonus” — a tax incentive for Australians to prioritise having children.

“If you can have children it’s a good thing to do — you should have one for the father, one for the mother and one for the country if you want to fix the aging demographic,” he told parliament.

But 20 years on from the installation of the landmark policy, Australia’s near recordlow fertility rate has failed to lift.

Experts say it could have far-reaching consequences for the country’s workforce, health system and cultural make-up.

The latest data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) revealed the possible future ahead of families, using previous birth rate data to estimate the country’s population growth.

ABS demography director Phil Browning said the data meant Australia was unlikely to replace the current generation.

“In terms of where fertility is right now, it’s down – it’s really low for Australian history,” he said.

“The total fertility rate is a measure of across a woman’s child-bearing years – [we estimate] that you will have 1.6 babies if she experiences that rate right through her fertile years, and we measure that from age 15 to age 49.”

The ABS determined what would happen if Australia’s fertility rate accelerated, decelerated or stayed at a similar rate