When I opened the paper on Thursday and saw that high housing costs, as well as the general expense of raising a child in today’s world, are stopping young people from procreating, my first reaction was: Duh.

According to new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, our national fertility rate has fallen to its lowest level since European settlement, with women now having an average of 1.5 children in their lifetime – well below the required replacement rate of 2.1.

Australia’s birth rate has declined again, to 1.5 babies per woman.Credit:........

© The Sydney Morning Herald