Monday, Jul 24, 2006
Australian Government Urges Citizens to Procreate and Flourish
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The Australian government has issued a rallying cry for its citizens to have more babies, saying the country's economy depends on a higher fertility rate.
 An Aboriginal girl drinks from a tap in Alice Springs
© AFP/File Tortsen Blackwood Treasurer Peter Costello, who once urged families to have "one for mum, one for dad and one for the country" noted Australia's birth rate was on the rise.
But launching a new nationwide census, he encouraged Australians to have yet more children.
"Perhaps our future attitude should be procreate and cherish," he said, borrowing from a former Australian immigration minister's call to "populate or perish."
"It is hard to maintain living standards in a country where population is declining," he added.
Prime Minister John Howard's government prides itself on being family friendly.
Costello last urged Australians to have more children in 2004, when he unveiled a 3,000 dollar (2,250 US) maternity payment for every newborn baby in what became known as his "go forth and multiply" budget.
The incentive, which increased to 4,000 dollars in July, appears to be working and while much of the Western world struggles with declining birth rates, Australia is in the grip of a mini baby boom.
The Australian newspaper reported Monday that 261,404 babies were born in 2005, the highest number since 1992.
The natural fertility rate -- the number of children a woman has during her lifetime -- has also increased from 1.75 in 2003, to 1.77 in 2004, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
But Costello said getting back up to the so-called replacement level of 2.1, the point at which births begin outnumbering deaths, was still a tall order.
"Let's just see if we can stabilise the decline and turn it back up. It would be a great thing for our country," he said.
Howard said Monday it was clear the baby bonus and greater support for stay-at-home parents had been a factor in Australians having more children.
"I am very pleased about that because the best possible investment any government can make in this country is in the future of children," he said.
"If we can buck the trend of western nations then we will really have achieved a lot, but I think it is too early to over-claim."
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