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Mums may push for bigger baby bonus

Amelia Bloomfield
Sunday, October 28, 2012
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With the baby bonus set to drop by $2000 in mid-2013, there are fears that mums will pressure their doctors for an early delivery to collect the higher payout.

The federal government’s announcement that it would drop the baby bonus by $2000 in the new financial year has led Families Minister Jenny Macklin to warn doctors against rescheduling elective caesareans or inducing labour to allow families to beat the deadline.

Ms Macklin contacted the Royal Australian College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, urging doctors to educate women about the range of government entitlements available as well as counselling them about the risks of premature delivery, according to documents obtained by The Sunday Telegraph.

From July 1, 2013, the baby bonus will be reduced from $5000 to $3000 for second and subsequent babies as part of wider government spending cuts.

Following the announcement by Treasurer Wayne Swan, Ms Macklin said that the adjustment takes into account that families tend to buy and keep big-ticket baby essentials beyond the first child.

“Expensive items such as the cot, pram, change table and baby capsule are generally reused for younger siblings,” she said.

Related: Best baby products of 2012,as voted by experts and you!

With the average pregnancy lasting 40 weeks, women who conceived between mid-September and mid-October are among those who are potentially affected by changes to the baby bonus payments. Working women, however, will still have access to the $10,000 paid maternity leave scheme.

"I am conscious of the pressure that may be placed on obstetricians and other medical staff to reschedule elective procedures in the lead-up to the start date for the reduced rate of baby bonus," Ms Macklin wrote in her submission to the College of Obstetricians.

"I know that the government and your members share the concern that the health of mothers and babies remain the paramount consideration in scheduling such procedures.

Although in many instances, a C-section is medically necessary for the heath of the baby or the mother, those delivered preterm by caesarean have been found to have a higher instance of breathing difficulties.

While experts have found no correlation between the introduction of the baby bonus and an increase in fertility rates, some economic commentators have tracked significant birthing behavioural changes as a result.

"There was strong evidence that [a baby bonus increase] impacted behaviour. And the evidence was all about planned birth timing, that is caesars and inductions, which comprise a significant share of all births," economist blogger and author of Parentonomics, Joshua Gans, told The Sunday Telegraph.

"In 2004, 2006 and 2008 we were seeing increases in the baby bonus so there was an incentive to delay births until after July 1 of those years.

"But $2000 is $2000 and so I suspect some people...will end up having conversations with their doctors as to whether they can have their babies on June 30 rather than July 1.”

Would you adjust your birth or conception plans as a result of the new baby bonus changes? Please leave your comment below.
User comments
I had 2 children in the 80's and there was no Baby Bonus and I managed to Buy a house own a car and Bring two Children up with no help from the govement ,whats wrong with the generation today, why should the goverment and tax payers pay you to have a baby ,If you want a baby fine but stop specting hand outs ,$5000 is a lot for any babies , Do what we did work and pay for your own babies
If $5000k seems to much for baby bonus then what should we think of paid maternity leave as its worth a good $10000!! . I think the drop of the $2000 should have been deducted evenly , i mean if we are saying who needs $5000k for baby bonus then my question is how one earth do you need $10000. I think it would have been a wiser decision to take $1000 off the baby bonus and $1000 off then maternity leave scheme.. I prefer to stay at home with my children and raise them without shipping them off to day care and child care facilities, Is having the big house and a couple of cars and the best furniture really that important.?
I have 3 children and have worked very hard even through my pregnancys untill the last month and have paid alot more taxes then the baby bonus has paid if your a stay at home mum with a partner your partners tax is paying for bb and ftb so no one else is missing out get over yourself thinking you pay for everyones bb the government takes takes takes what is the real issue here surely they can give a little back
By older generations I am talking Baby Boomers, pre huge taxes, pre GST, pre huge inflation, back when 70K bought you a 3 bedroom house in a decent location, and most people lived quite well on one income, not someone who had their children in the 1990s.
I dont know how zandi makes her comment about the cost of living being lower for older generations. It is just that these days there are more products and services to buy. There were no large supermarkets to buy cheaper groceries from like today. Or stores like Crazy Clarks, Costco, Aldi, Big W etc for cheaper goods. When I had my child we got nothing in 1994, but managed to survive. It is not the cost of living that is higher it is peoples expectations of that lifestyle that costs money and who whinge about having to cut back on that lifestyle.
The thing that makes people cross about the baby bonus is that they are not eligible for it. It is the same reason people get angry at aborigines getting special benefits (like payments to stay in school) or single parents getting a pension. The older generations whinge they had to raise their children without getting a baby bonus, but the cost of living was a lot lower back then. Also, the baby bonus was introduced to encourage people to have more children due to our falling birth rate. Unfortunately it was not well thought out, like most political policies, and so the people breeding the most are all the scum and ferals who are doing it for the money, so rather than increase the birth rate of decent hard working folk, it just gives us a bigger welfare bill when all those ferals drop out of school and go on the dole, or worse have 6 kids each.
I feel I have to write something in response to Mummatobe. As one of those over 30's, I'm wondering where you are getting your information? I had 3 children in the 80's and there was no baby bonus, we struggled to get by but chose that lifestyle as we felt we had a lot to give to the next generation that didn't involve money. To suggest that people wouldn't have had children without a baby bonus offered is appalling to me - if you are having children only because of money you receive from the government then you shouldn't be having children. My children are now well adjusted, caring, loving and high income earning adults who all believe they had a wonderful childhood despite having to do without many of the things a lot of young parents today consider "essential".
I love how so many people complain about how older generations never got this moeny and we should be thankful for what were getting.the Baby Bonus was actually introduced in 1912 and then again 2002.the main reason for the modern day baby bonus was to increase our population so our children can one day join the workforce and support the ageing population i.e the baby boomers who will no doubt all be going onto the pension due to past superannuation and economy issues. what teenage mum has private health care and can afford an obstetrician. Some people are suggesting to take the baby bonus away, but i wonder how many of you 30 plus would have decided to have children had there been no baby bonus. The reality of it is that women stopped having children in australia as many of them couldnt afford it or they chose to have a career instead. Im 25, a stay at home mum by choice and pregnant with my 2nd and couldnt be happier I was able to afford to have kids before I turned 40 thanks to this.
As it is call a baby bonus I imagine that any amount would be appreciated. It you choose to have child how about supporting it yourself. There are too many people out there on the gravy wagon. If you can't afford to have them then don't. It's as simple as that.
I am a happy stay at home mother of three children well into primary school, I found out we were going to be blessed with another child 9 years after our last one was born. I do not have any of the items of necessity for a baby as they were all sold 7 years ago. While our happy accident is going to a new and exciting journey, I wouldn't harm my body or effect my child for a few extra dollars. don't get me wrong, every little bit of assistance I can get will help. how ever people need to understand, just because I'm a stay at home mother doesn't mean I'm lazing about enjoying your hard earned tax dollars. I'm at uni, even if its being done by correspondance and I'm trying to make ends meet. Its the ones who play the system that effect the out come of these government decisions. I'm at home and at school and trying to care for my Intellectual disabled child. People have got to remember the government aren't handing it out in a lump sum any more its added to your fortnightly payments.

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