ello (@piers)

Update: "Australia's baby recession has deepened, with new data revealing the nation's fertility rate has hit a record low. The latest research by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed the fertility rate was 1.48 babies per woman in 2024, down from 2023 figures. "Parents are also having children later in life in Australia, with the median age for mothers sitting at 32.1 and 33.9 for fathers in 2024. Beidar Cho, ABS head of demography, said parents having children later in life reflected several different trends, including access to education and higher workforce participation by women. In the past 10 years, the median age of mothers increased by 1.2 years, and for fathers it increased by 0.9 years. "ANU demographer Liz Allen said her research showed the downward trend was not purely driven by 'free choice', but that the barriers to achieving that much-wanted family were 'insurmountable'. "'When we ask in surveys what people's intended or desired number of children, what they say is generally higher than what they achieve,' Dr Allen said. 'In other words, couples don't tend to have the number of children they desire. Total fertility rates are not a problem in their own right. If it's an indication of choice and empowerment, then who are we to say it's bad?' "Housing affordability, economic security, gender inequality and climate change were the four big things that were not being earnestly tackled by government, Dr Allen said. She said Australia was faced with declining total fertility rates that were well below the replacement level and have been since the mid-1970s. Dr Allen said in Sydney and Melbourne, as examples, families looking for affordable housing to establish a family were being pushed to the fringes of cities. "'The total fertility rates are lower in the cities than they are outside the city limits, and that's because housing is far more affordable,' she said. "The ABS is projecting that by the mid-2050s, deaths will outnumber local births." Daniela Pizzirani, ABC #ABS https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10-15/australia-s-baby-recession-deepens-new-abs-data-says/105541086