Source : Perth Now news
Australia’s family tax system is “unfair”, according to leading demographer Professor Peter McDonald, as birthrates fall and the migration debate intensifies.
Speaking to the 7NEWS podcast The Issue, Professor McDonald said support for families has been steadily eroded, with fewer households now receiving Family Tax Benefit payments than in previous decades under broader family support schemes.
“We’ve been taxing away the family tax benefit and I’m a pro-child person so I think that’s unfair,” Professor McDonald told the podcast.
“We should be looking at better ways to be supporting families with children.”
He said stronger family policy wasn’t only about lifting the birthrate.
“They’re making life more comfortable for Australian couples, they’re providing education to Australian children and so on.”
In 2022–23, only 42 per cent of Australian families received Family Tax Benefit Part A, while 35 per cent received Part B, which is aimed at single parents, grandparent carers and single-income couples.
Australia’s fertility rate now sits at a record-low 1.5 children per woman, although among Australian-born women it is higher at 1.7.
The issue is now colliding with a broader political fight over migration, tax and childcare.
One Nation backs income splitting for couples, which would allow taxable income to be shared between parents and reduce the total tax paid. The Parliamentary Budget Office previously costed a similar policy at $12 billion a year.
Speaking to 7News, One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce said income splitting “also comes at a saving” because “if a person’s at home looking after their children then they don’t need that daycare position to look after their children”.
“As a nation we have to have more babies. If you don’t have babies, then you’re going to have to import them, which means that that comes in the form of immigration,” Mr Joyce said.
Professor McDonald rejected that approach, arguing it could discourage women from staying in the workforce.
“Sure there are some women who would prefer to stay at home and look after the children, they’re usually people whose husbands aren’t making a lot of money,” Professor McDonald said.
“But today women are more highly educated than men, they are career oriented, they want to work.”
The Coalition has flagged a broader families package for the 2028 federal election, while Labor is continuing to focus on childcare reform.
Anthony Albanese has said he wants universal childcare to be part of his legacy, with the government’s Child Care Subsidy now offering eligible families three days of subsidised care a week, although households earning more than $538,520 are excluded.
The debate is also feeding into the wider migration fight. Labor is aiming to reduce annual net overseas migration to 225,000 by 2027–28, while the Coalition wants the figure below 200,000 and One Nation is pushing for 130,000 temporary and permanent visas a year.
But Professor McDonald told the podcast that permanent migration should be prioritised over temporary arrivals, arguing high turnover on temporary visas is hurting productivity.
“It’s a very, very unpopular statement to make, but I think that permanent migration should be higher,” he said.
“Churning over temporary migrants is a reason for the decline in labour productivity.”
