Paid parental leave and baby bonus schemes have always been problematic.

Our children were born in the period from 1970 – 74. We had no financial support gifted to us by government and managed to bring them up in a way that has returned blessing to us as parents and to the community through their contribution. To that extent we regarded our children as our responsibility and not as a means of gaining entitlements from government.

I believe that the baby bonus scheme introduced by Peter Costello when treasurer in the Howard Government was one of the worst things a liberal government ever did to this country. Living in the NT (but being well aware of the rest of Australia) revealed the worst of this scenario.

When a sum of $600 plus dollars for child support was rolled out before the formal baby bonus scheme was properly introduced, many, many people grabbed the cash and splurged big time. I remember a story in The Australian which reported that in Katherine NT, the ATM’s in that town were drained of cash within thirty minutes of it being available in accounts. Katherine retailers and hoteliers had a ball. The money intended to support children went on anything but that support.

Then came the baby bonus of thousands and again the profligate and unthinking ways in which the majority spent that money made me shidder. Children who were supposed to benefit from the money became, when they reached preschool (kindergarten) became known as the ‘plasma kids’. Birthrates escalated with many treating the promise of thousands of dollars as an incentive to give birth.

While the scheme changed in form and shape over time, the money was always there and in so many cases was misused. Children became ‘cash cows’ for parents.

Sadly, what this scheme did was to turn many parents from people being responsible for their babies and children to people who felt it was their ‘entitled right’ to hold out their hands for support.

It goes on. The Abbott scheme is simply an extension of the bonus for birth-giving scheme. That scheme created far more misery than can bee imagined, particularly in the remote communities of our country. This scheme will continue to perpetuate the belief that Australians are ‘entitled’, with responsibilities many parents should own for their children continuing to take a back seat.

An alternative

The baby bonus schemes that have been anaddendum to create a paid parental leave program could be better orchestrated. The baby bonus program in particular, has failed in many cases, because parents have grabbed the funds and splurged on anything BUT the baby. Not all, but many.

In my opinion, funds generated at birth should be put into trust funds in the names of those born, with guardianship for funds being vested in an appropriate government entity. The fund would grow over years with interest compounding band adding to the initial payment.

The fund would remain under the control of a government improved actuary (either departmental or an investment agent) until the child turned eighteen. If an agent is engaged, it would be on a strict understanding about management fees, so the fund is not diminished, At that point in time (eighteenth birthday) the control of the fund would return to the beneficiary (the baby now grown) but with the imprimatur it be applied to educational furtherance or occupational advancement.

There will be some young adults who misapply these funds but I would be willing to bet the majority would appreciate the benefit and apply it for educational or occupational benefit. At the moment, far too much of this ‘taxpayers via government’ gift is wasted. The last to benefit are the babies on whose behalf it is paid..