MEDIA RELEASE

MEDIA RELEASE

MEDIA RELEASE

Australia’s birth rate is plunging to 1.4 babies per woman — the lowest on record and far below the replacement level of 2.1. 

While Labor and the Coalition are silent, Family First is sounding the alarm. 

Former Treasurer Peter Costello, famous for his successful baby bonus which increased the fertility rate, is right to say this week’s news of a plummeting birth rate is a “major concern”.

Costello says our demographic collapse will affect productivity, economic growth and the fabric of society.

But there’s no policy response from the major parties — just more immigration. 

Family First believes in building Australia’s future through strong families, not relying primarily on immigration.

The most common reason young couples give for delaying children is cost of living. Housing, power, groceries, and childcare are all too expensive. 

That’s why Family First is making cutting the cost of living a centrepiece of our 2025 federal election campaign. 

We’ll fight to bring down power prices by scrapping Labor’s reckless renewables push and backing affordable coal, gas and nuclear. 

We’ll release more land and reduce red tape to ease the housing crisis. 

And to support stay-at-home parents — mostly mothers — we’ll introduce income splitting, so families can share their income for tax purposes, easing the burden on single-income households. 

Raising children is the most valuable contribution any couple can make to the future of Australia. It shouldn’t come with a financial penalty. 

The Albanese government says it “has no position” on encouraging families to have children. Family First has a very clear one. 

We stand for mums and dads. 

We stand for babies. 

And we stand for a future that’s built on Australian families, not permanent dependence on mass migration. 

Vote 1 Family First to make Australia family-friendly again.