☕️ Is Australia in a baby recession?

You might remember earlier in the year when Treasurer Jim Chalmers told the Nine papers that “it would be better if birth rates were higher.”

It’s fair to say that let off a chain reaction, with many people pushing back on our male Treasurer telling Aussies to have more babies.

But the Treasurer had receipts: a new KPMG report has found Australia is in a ‘baby recession’.

In today’s podcast, we spoke to demographer Dr Liz Allen about what this means for the country’s future - listen here!

“I know a thing or two about how hard it can be for strong women candidates to fight through the sexism and double standards of American politics… While it still pains me that I couldn’t break that highest, hardest glass ceiling, I’m proud that my two presidential campaigns made it seem normal to have a woman at the top of the ticket.”
Former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in an op-ed for The New York Times, in which she endorsed Kamala Harris.

17.09°C
The global average surface temperature on 21 July. It was the hottest day since at least 1940, according to the EU climate change service.

1984
Svetlana Savitskaya became the first woman to walk in space, and the second woman to go to space.

NSW Police have laid new charges against Beau Lamarre-Condon — the former police officer charged with murdering Sydney couple Luke Davies and Jesse Baird in February.

The 29-year-old now faces three additional charges related to domestic violence and break and enter.

Lamarre-Condon has been refused bail, and will remain in police custody until his next court appearance in August.

Here’s what we know.

Police began investigating the disappearance of Baird and Davies in mid-February after neighbours reported hearing gunshots from Baird’s home in inner-Sydney.

Following a search, Lamarre-Condon handed himself into police before being charged with murder.

Baird and Davies’ bodies were then found at a rural property in Bungonia, near the regional city of Goulburn.

Lamarre-Condon’s next court appearance is scheduled for 13 August in Sydney. He has not yet entered a plea to any of the charges against him.

The new domestic violence-related murder charges could replace the original murder charges as the case proceeds through the courts. However, it’s not yet clear which charges will be prosecuted.

NSW Police declined to comment on the active court case.

Reporting by Achol Arok.

A review of Australia’s visa system has recommended the Government overturn restrictions on some children with disabilities.

Existing laws mean some migrant children are blocked from getting a permanent visa, because of the healthcare costs associated with their disability.

Advocates have urged the Government to dump this practice for children with disabilities, saying it is “discriminating lawfully”.

The Home Affairs Department appoints a medical officer to conduct overall health checks on permanent visa applicants.

Based on an officer’s findings, Home Affairs has the power to reject a child with a disability’s visa if their ongoing healthcare requirements pass a limit called the “Significant Cost Threshold” (SCT).

The SCT is a figure the Government considers acceptable for the cost of providing services like Medicare access to permanent visa-holders. It currently tops out at $86,000 over ten years.

The Disability Discrimination Act protects people with disabilities from discrimination in areas like employment and education, but not migration.

Government data shows 61 children born to parents with temporary visas were refused permanent visas in 2022/23 due to the SCT test.

When a visa application is rejected, a person risks either being held in immigration detention or deportation.

TDA has been unable to confirm the status of the 61 children, including if any are being held in immigration detention or have been deported.

Immigration Minister Andrews Giles launched a review of the SCT last year.

The review, led by the Department of Home Affairs, heard from advocates and people with experience using Australia’s visa system.

The ‘Welcoming Disability’ group, a not-for-profit advocacy body, put forward a submission urging the Government to scrap SCTs for migrant children with disabilities.

It said current laws “assume disability and health conditions are a cost burden to the wider community.”

The final report has recommended 11 changes to how the SCT is calculated, as well as its use in the visa application process.

It has also suggested migrant children born and living in Australia with a disability should have special protections against the SCT.

The Government has accepted five out of 11 proposals, including to make sure “average” health and service costs are regularly updated in the SCT calculation. Five of the other recommendations are under consideration, and one is subject to another review.

In a statement to TDA, Minister Giles said the Government will consider the recommendations from the Home Affairs Department’s report.

“We have already implemented a number of the proposed actions, including increasing the Significant Cost Threshold,” Giles said.

He did not indicate whether he would push to change visa rules for children with disabilities.

‘Welcoming Disability’ migration policy advisor Dr Jan Gothard told TDA the current system is “out of step” with community expectations.

“People with disabilities have human rights and they should be treated like everybody else and they should not have to justify their existence or their benefits,” Gothard said.

She wants to see a shakeup of visa laws, which she said currently give Home Affairs a “licence to discriminate” when assessing visas of people with disabilities.

Reporting by Harry Sekulich.

Get involved in DonateLife Week 

Although 4 out of 5 Aussies support organ and tissue donation, only 1 in 10 young people aged 16-24 are registered. During this year’s DonateLife Week, from 28 July - 2 August, we’re trying to change that.

It doesn’t matter if you drink, smoke or vape – anyone over 16 can register. It only takes one minute, but you could save up to 7 lives.

How organ donation saves lives: Nick’s Story

At three months old, Brisbane-born Nick DeBonis was diagnosed with biliary atresia, a condition that required a liver transplant for him to survive.

After months of fighting for his life, his parents received a call that someone had sadly passed away, but they had generously donated their liver – and it was a match to Nick. 

Now at 18, Nick’s about to represent Australia as the youngest player in the first Transplant Football World Cup in Italy this September.

"I've been given an incredible gift of life and I'm really grateful for that,” Nick said.

When Aussies register as organ donors and their family consent, it gives people like Nick a second chance. 

It only takes one minute to register as an organ and tissue donor at donatelife.gov.au with 3 taps on your Express Plus Medicare app.

The Barbie has been designed with features such as velcro strips and textured fabrics, intended to enhance the play experience for blind or low-vision children, and includes a cane and sunglasses. Vision Australia has welcomed the move, saying “it’s important children and young people understand that people with disability are part of the community.”

Reporting by Achol Arok.

Sharks on cocaine.

It might sound like the plot of a low-budget streaming movie, but it’s true: Scientists have detected cocaine in the systems of Brazilian Sharpnose sharks.

For their first-of-its-kind research, scientists tested 13 sharks. All of them tested positive for cocaine, with female sharks having higher concentrations of cocaine in their muscles compared to male sharks.

The research paper suggested the sharks are being exposed to cocaine flowing into the ocean from wastewater, or even biting packages of drugs abandoned by traffickers at sea.

Reporting by Nandini Dhir.

Australia is in the midst of a ‘baby recession,' according to recent analysis of national birth trends by KPMG. It blamed cost of living pressures for declining births last year, when the country reached its lowest birth rate since 2006. So, what’s going on and does it matter? ANU demographer Dr. Liz Allen answers our questions in the deep dive.