Australia wants the quick-baby fix

Canberra: The Australian Government on Monday stepped up calls for women to have more babies, despite stemming a declining fertility rate, saying a growing population was important for the nation's economy.

Treasurer Peter Costello, who two years ago urged couples to have more children including "one for mum, one for dad and one for the country," also said men should do more around the home to make it easier for women to have children.

"A boost in fertility is essential in the long run," Costello said in a speech on Monday, adding that the country remained well short of the 2.1 births needed per woman to automatically grow the 20.5 million population.

Australia is currently in the grip of a mini baby boom, with more births in 2005 than any year since 1992.

The birth rate has climbed from a low of 1.7 births per woman in 2002-03 to 1.8 births in 2004-05, but Costello said more babies were needed.

It is one of the few developed nations to lift its fertility rate, with demographers pointing to major problems in other countries.

Costello said by 2050, Italy's population was projected to fall by seven million, Japan's by 16 million and Russia's by 31 million.

To encourage couples to have more children, Australia has introduced a baby-bonus worth A$4,000 ($3,000), paid to the parents of each newborn child, which will rise to A$5,000 from July 2008.

A Government study released in 2002 warned that unless the fertility rate increased, the number of people aged 65 or older would double and the number aged 85 or more would quadruple by 2042, while the workforce population would remain stable.

Costello said Australians could not rely on immigration to prop up the population or to ensure enough workers in the face of an ageing population, and he ruled out bringing in guest workers from Pacific Islands nations to help meet worker shortages.

"Guest workers become a society within a society," Costello said. "Our culture and history is not compatible with the introduction of guest workers or different tiers of citizenship."