The challenge: procreate or perish

We ignore the falling fertility rate at our peril. Every year we fail to tackle it is a precious year wasted, so far as future generations and the economic welfare of the country is concerned.

We know that the number of new entrants to the workforce is expected to decline from 170,000 a year today to an average of 12,500 a year between 2020 and 2030. That will have major consequences for the economy and where we find workers to provide services for an ageing population.

We need a twin approach to our ageing population; one that deals with the consequences of ageing and another that starts to address the causes.

The British academic Catherine Hakim, in Work-Lifestyle Choices in the 21st Century, classifies women's, or families', work-lifestyle preferences into three categories: 20 per cent are home-centred, 20 per cent are work-centred, and the remaining 60 per cent are adaptive.

Hakim states that the 60 per cent group is "very responsive" to government social policy, employment policy, equal opportunities etc. If that is the case, that is further argument for beginning to tackle the fertility issue, as opposed to seeing it as too hard.

Importantly, Hakim also states that economic policies should reflect the fact that women are not a homogenous group and families' situations will change in a lifetime.

Too often, the voices in this debate reflect only the work-centred group. Families do want to be adaptive. For example, surveys of families show time and again that one parent likes to be at home for the first few years of their child's life. They might then want options for part-time work and so on.

We need to test any policies to deal with Australia's ageing population against three policy objectives: Does it help promote a work/family balance? Does it increase the fertility rate? Does it promote retirement savings and income, particularly for women?

Providing paid maternity leave will not affect the work/family balance, will have little, if any, affect on fertility rates and will do nothing to enhance retirement savings and income for women.

We also need to address the issue of workability, which is a particular issue for "adaptive" women with young families and older workers.

Workability is about providing optimum conditions for people to enter and re-enter the workforce, regardless of their age or other circumstances, such as their family life. Both employers and employees have responsibilities in this area. Employers can provide more flexible work hours and child-friendly workplaces and work practices, while employees must keep updating their skills and knowledge.

As well as encouraging childless couples to have children, the real emphasis must be on encouraging families that have one or two children to have another.