Families: the sinking middle

The ripple of protest among average families that is fast becoming a wave of discontent will not be plugged by soothing rhetoric from a few politicians.

And sop policies like the unfair Baby Bonus, which returns just $10 a week to an average family so long as one parent remains at home for up to five years – won’t buoy those families who are sinking in the middle.

Nor does it address the long-term consequences of having family policies that were designed for a different generation of Australians.

There remains a strong desire on the part of Australian couples to have children. Ninety-three per cent of Australian women say they want kids and around 75 per cent of couples go on to have them.

Our declining birthrate is the consequence of our failure to adjust to the huge changes that conspire against the wishes of a majority of Australian couples.

It is a ticking time bomb that we need to address now or face the economic and social consequences of an ageing population and a childless society – a withered nation.

The birthrate debate isn’t about those who choose not to have children, but those who do have one but who cannot afford the second or third child they want.

We need a wholesale rethink of the values that underpin our approach to Australian families and a new deal that matches support to their circumstances.

We need a combination of tax credits and family payment reforms to make work pay for Australia’s sinking middle. In terms of delivering more family time, we could consider new forms of leave. The starting point for industrial reform for Labor is Paid Maternity Leave.

It does not have to be a pitched battle between employers and unions on the streets. Managers are parents too.

Our children are the key to our economic future but this is secondary to our understanding that children bring irreplaceable hope, imagination and vibrancy to our society.

Strong families are the building blocks of strong communities.

If we are serious about underwriting these kinds of statements we must heed the calls of the sinking middle who are struggling to build a strong foundation for their children.