Baby bonus blues
"Populate or perish" came the cry in the 1930s when Australia's leaders were sufficiently concerned by the nation's sluggish birth rate that they encouraged their fellow countrymen and women to adopt the missionary position with evangelical zeal. Procreation became a patriotic imperative.
The calls became even more insistent after World War II, when the bombing of the Northern Territory and the Japanese advance into what was then called New Guinea heightened fears in Canberra that the low birth rate posed an existential threat to the nation's long-term future.
Prospective parents answered the call, and by 1961, the height of Australia's post-war baby boom, the country's fertility rate stood to 3.55 per woman. By 2001, however, it had slipped back to an historic low, at 1.73 a woman - a decline attributed partly to the decision by prospective parents to delay having children.
The concern now was of the greying of Australia: of how to finance the welfare entitlements of an ageing population. In the early 1970s, when Australia remained a relatively youthful nation, a third of the population was aged 15 years or younger. By the turn of the century, this proportion had fallen to just 22%.
So on budget night in 2004, Peter Costello, the then Treasurer, came up with his own version of "populate or perish". Introducing his popular "baby bonus", a financial pay-out for each newborn, he urged his fellow Australians to have "one for mum, one for dad and one for the country".
The purse strings were opened and the patriotic nerve was well and truly tweaked. So much so that by 2006 the number of births reached 265,922, the second highest figure on record and the best in 30 years. As he hoped, Costello's bonus had proved a baby booming success.
For the canny Treasurer there was also another dividend. By providing a lump sum payment which parents could spend however they chose, he blunted calls for statutory paid maternity leave - a right which mothers in Australia still do not enjoy.
I raise this subject not only because it was Mothers Day in Australia on Sunday - hope all you far-flung Aussies remembered - but, more importantly, because it is budget day on Tuesday, the Rudd government's first.
In the lead-up, there's been a lot of speculation as to whether the baby bonus will survive in its present, universal form - a one-off payment of $A4187 ($3,934, £2,020) (and $A 5000 from July). Looking to slash government spending - a recent Treasury report suggested the Howard government had all the fiscal profligacy of an inebriated mariner and that public spending was at "unsustainable" levels - the government's "razor gangs" might target the bonus.
Kevin Rudd has already hinted that the baby bonus should be means tested - implying that the promise of a few thousand dollars to a millionaire hardly produces a stampede towards the bedroom. A number of leading economists have come out and said that it's an "unbelievably expensive" way to achieve a higher birth rate. The Business Council of Australia derides the bonus as "middle class welfare" and says it should be means tested.
So should it survive in its present form? Or should the baby bonus, as some headline writers have gleefully put it, be thrown out with the bath water?
Equally, is it time to rethink whether there should be statutory paid maternity leave? After all, Australia and the US remain the only developed nations not to have such a scheme. When the idea of national paid maternity leave scheme by 2010 was floated at the recent 2020 summit it did not even make the shortlist.
Or would means testing the baby bonus be part of Labor's plan to soak the rich? There's already been talk of a "Robin Hood" budget, and leaks about a new tax on luxury cars. Curious political strategy for a leader who's built his success on reaching out to voters who have traditionally been suspicious of Labor.
When it comes to boosting fertility, perhaps it is time for a new slogan. "Make more working families", might be a favourite in government circles, whose members have seemingly been programmed to include the phrase "working families" in every sentence that leaves their voice box. "Lie Back and Think of Australia?" might be a better ice-breaker. Perhaps there should be a more imaginative incentive scheme, in the frequent-flyer mould. I'd love to hear your suggestions.
Many of these are ultimately questions, of course, for the Treasurer Wayne Swan. Born in 1954, Mr Swan was himself a product of the post-war baby boom, and, like his boss, Kevin Rudd, is the proud father of three children. As the Treasurer has proved, when it comes to populating or perishing, actions speak louder then words.
I'm 
~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~43~RS~)
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I don't think many people will have sleepless nights worrying about an increase in tax on luxury cars - rich people will still buy them anyway!
I'm all for ditching the baby bonus and trying to find a way towards some paid maternity leave for those that don't have access to it. I don't know how practical it would be to have that means tested though? Again, why should we pay rich people maternity leave?
Certainly the baby bonus is absurd and I for one resent giving handouts to those better off than me.
Perhaps the proposed government review of the taxation system will find a way to stop the rich from minimising their tax and paying the same as the rest of us - somehow, I don't think that will ever happen!!!
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Speaking as a full blooded male intent upon doing my bit to boost the much maligined, ailing fertility rate, I should like to take issue with Mordigirl's rallying call to stop baby payments.
The incentive to do one's patriotic duty (a more arduous 30 secs I cannot possibly imagine) can only be bolstered by such monetary recompenses and, as such, Australia can rest easy knowing that, should the Japanese invade again, there will lots of junior travelling lites ready to answer the defensive call.
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I Hope they will get the money......
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To Desktop Cynic,
What a drag you are ! why is everything racist? you need to get over your self. I think it is such a good thing that the government is giving money to people to help them when they first decide to have children.I am also happy that it is means tested. I am sorry but I am pretty sure they dont only let 'white' people have the bonus and if you haven't noticed most of Australia is multicultural.
Just because other nations still have 9 children when they are so poor you can barely feed one, does not mean we have to suffer!I am sorry if that seem rude or mean I do not mean it that way.
But I have worked hard and waited so that I can give my child a good life.
It makes me sad that people play the racist game all the time , being white and being in London people are often racist to me but I guess it is not racism when it is directed at a white person is it?
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Young Speaker
You'd be surprised. As a (white) foreigner living in the US, I get stupid racist remarks about my accent all the time.
But I stick by my comments. There will be 9 BILLION people on the planet soon. Think about it. Nine billion. Shortage of babies really isn't a problem. Distribution may be a problem but increased immigration would assist.
(And I got over myself several decades ago!)
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Just a question Desktop Cynic,
How many of the starving Asian or African children have you adopted?? I bet none. Oh you probably donate to an organisation that gives 70 percent of the money and 30 percent to the children. It is really easy to preach to people about the starving children but really know one is doing anything to help them . I for one am going to be happy when I receive the baby bonus and will not be thinking about those children. Am I a horrible person maybe, but I have never been selfish and always donated to good causes , I think when I have a child I should be able to enjoy the moment and be so happy and proud that finally I am getting something back from a government.
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Racist? A subtext for more white babies? Mmmm, let's see. I think you're flashing a red herring there. Australia has an active immigration policy that positively encourages skilled migrants to come and contribute to the future of the country. Is that a policy of a racist government? Is the baby bonus only given to those of a white background, or can any Australian (native or new) apply? The real issue isn't whether the bonus will be scrapped or not, it's the fact that the failure to pay women statutory maternity pay makes Australia look like a society run by a bunch of backward hicks: women don't need maternity pay; what were they doing at work anyway. Shouldn't they be in the kitchen?
From: http://tinyurl.com/3mtn29
"Paying women during a period of maternity leave is internationally recognised. In fact the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women states: "Parties shall take all appropriate measures … to introduce maternity leave with pay or with comparable social benefits without loss of former employment seniority or social allowances". Although Australia is a signatory to the Convention, it does not accept and is not bound to implement the intention of the above excerpt as it has a "reservation" in place. This reservation continues despite the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission recommending that Australia withdraw this reservation and implement the Convention in full. The International Labour Organisation has also set standards for paid maternity leave dating back to 1921, with the Convention concerning the Employment of Women before and after Childbirth. This Convention was revised in 1952 but was not ratified by Australia.
And to travelling_lite: I for one am available for patriotic procreation. Although if you think I'd be sending them off to be cannon fodder you'd have another fight on your hands.
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Nick:
I hope that they used the money to got and spend it at the local stores in Australia....
--Dennis Junior--
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