Births Edging Up?

On April fools day, nine months after the latest increase in baby bonus, the ABS has released the latest annual rate of births. The stats are for the year ended 30 September 2004 and births for Australia were 255,100 (equivalent to 1.3% of the population) which are up 4,000 on the year-end 31 December 2004. This annual rate is the highest since 1995 when 256,190 babies arrived. Despite the date of release, the rise appears genuine, but not yet back to the heady days of 1971 when births peaked at 276,362 (and some mothers weren't too sure who the fathers were!) or 1947 when births were 2.4% of the population versus 1.3% now.

Anecdotal evidence in the media this past week has carried tales of a surge in baby deliveries and breast-feeding clinic visits. It's hard to give much credence to these numbers as seasonal influences can sway figures. Treasurer Costello, who needs lots more workers and tax payers has been urging couples back to bedroom to produce even more babies. The baby bonus rises from $3,000 to $4,000 on 1 July 2006.

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