FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
15 September 2026
Pronatalism Australia has welcomed Katter’s Australian Party’s call for a $75,000 payment for every birth, announced on 11 September, as a sign that Australia’s falling birth rate is finally being treated as a national issue. The organisation, which takes no partisan position, said the intent behind the proposal mattered more than the specific figure attached to it.
Founder Andrew Glover said few politicians were willing to discuss the country’s demographic future with this kind of ambition.
“Australia’s birth rate has been falling dramatically for the past 15 years and it barely rates a mention in Canberra. Mr Katter has helped to make it a national conversation, and that kind of long-range thinking deserves encouragement.” Mr Glover said.
The organisation said the proposal recognised something families already know. Young Australians deciding whether to start a family, or to have another child, are squeezed at the worst possible moment. Housing costs, insecure early-career pay and student debt all have to be managed in the same decade as the decision.
“People have children at the age when they can least afford them, and increasingly they’re putting it off until they’re more financially secure – or opting out altogether,” Mr Glover said. “Young Australians also need to hear that having children matters to this country, and that the nation will back them when they do.”
On cost, Mr Glover said there were cheaper ways to put serious money behind family formation over the long term. Katter’s Australian Party puts its birth payment at around $22 billion a year. Alternatively, Pronatalism Australia’s ‘Babyannuation’ proposal would invest $5,000 for every newborn, at about $1.5 billion a year, released when that child becomes a parent.
“You don’t need $22 billion a year to make a real difference,” Mr Glover said. “Invest $5,000 at birth, let it grow like superannuation, and it’s worth close to $30,000 by the time someone is working out whether they can afford a baby.”
Pronatalism Australia said it would support good family policy from any party, and called on the Government and the Opposition to cost the idea rather than dismiss it.
“We’d rather discuss how to pay for it than pretend fertility decline isn’t a problem.” Mr Glover said.
Media Contact
Andrew Glover, Founder, Pronatalism Australia
Email: info@pronatalismaustralia.org
Web: www.pronatalismaustralia.org