Peter Costello (Higgins, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for Deakin for his question. The Australian Bureau of Statistics released its demographic statistics for the June quarter 2006, which showed that in the year to June 2006 264,287 births were registered—a 3.3 per cent increase over the year before, and the highest number of births since 1971-72. That is the highest number of births in over 30 years. In addition, the total fertility rate, which is the number of live births per female over their reproductive life, rose from 1.78 to 1.83—the highest fertility rate in 11 years.

It is something to be welcomed by all Australians that the number of births has increased, and the fertility rate, which had been falling continuously since 1961, has actually bottomed and turned. We would be one of the few countries in the industrialised world—

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