Cost-of-Living Crisis Affecting Birth Rate

Wednesday 31st of July, 2024
Victorian Legislative Council

RACHEL PAYNE (South-Eastern Metropolitan): My adjournment matter is for the Treasurer. Victorians are not having sex like they used to. Analysis from KPMG has shown that Australia is experiencing a sharp drop in births, or what they are calling a baby recession. The number of births in 2023 was at its lowest since 2006. Such a sharp drop in births has not been seen since the 1970s, making this the sharpest decline in over 50 years. Capital cities like Melbourne and in particular inner-city suburbs were the worst affected. In Melbourne births were down by 7.3 per cent in 2023.

You might ask whether a new super-effective contraceptive has hit the market, and you would be right to think so. The cost-of-living crisis is the new birth control, and it is a tough pill to swallow. Young people are experiencing increasing housing unaffordability, hefty grocery bills and ballooning HECS debts. Because of this, they often have no choice but to live at home or in a share house for longer and longer. It is no wonder that people are putting off the decision to have kids and all the added costs that come with it.

With that being said, I will mention that for a number of reasons increasing numbers of people, including me, are making the valid decision to not have children. So, this is not about saying that everyone must be running out there and having as many kids as they can. This is about saying that for some people the choice to start and grow a family has been taken away.

I was happy to see that Clyde North in my region was highlighted as one of the 10 suburbs in Melbourne with the highest fertility rates, but despite how much I may want them to, people should not have to move to my region for the chance to be able to afford to raise a family.

The action I seek is that the Treasurer ensure that those in Victoria who need it are given cost-of-living support so that they can choose to start and grow their family regardless of their postcode.

Written Response, Provided 25th of August
Tim Pallas MP, Treasurer:

I thank the Member for the South-Eastern Metropolitan Region for her question.

The Government understands the pressures being faced by families and young people and we’ll keep working to drive down the cost of living for Victorians.

As announced in the 2024-25 Budget, the Government is providing cost-of-living relief through a range of measures. These include:

A one-off $400 School Saving Bonus to help families cover the cost of children’s schooling.
An additional $394 million to boost access to vocational training and free TAFE.
An extra $5 million to support food relief organisations.
An additional $8.7 million to help Victorians save on their power bills, including via the Energy Compare website.

The Commonwealth Government has announced that households will receive $300 to help with the cost of their energy bills in 2024-25. The Victorian Government is working with the Commonwealth to deliver this payment.

These measures build on supports the Government has already provided. Last year, we announced another round of the $250 Power Saving Bonus that gave households direct support for their bills. We are continuing to deliver on free Kinder that will help families with the cost of early childhood education. And we have amended eligibility criteria to give more students access to Free TAFE and subsidised courses.

I know that the residents of the South-Eastern Metropolitan Region, and Victorians and their families across the state, will take advantage of these cost-of-living supports.