Australians bonking because of a burgeoning back pocket

The Australian tabloids are going nuts today, with an Australian Bureau of Statistics announcement that the number of births registered in the quarter to December 2006 was the highest Australia has recorded since the very swinging, 1971.

Federal Treasurer Peter Costello is claiming the increase as a result of his government's tight economic policy. From news.com.au:

"The improvement in the number of births reflects a confidence in Australia's future, and a greater sense of economic security for families"

I must agree - the treasurer is spot on when attributing the Australian Government's strong fiscal policy to a higher birth rate. There's nothing that turns a bloke on more than reading about the GDP contribution of the mining and industrial sectors, or the effects that the centralisation of Australian assets is having on foreign investments.

I wonder if he'll also be claiming credit for the fact that 2006 saw more people dying than in any other year, probably resulting directly from the monotonic economic rhetoric he carried on with last year...

The ABS release also reported that Australia's population reached 20,852,000 at 31 December 2006. Exciting times, as we move toward the big 21-million. Stay tuned - I'll let you know as soon as we hit it, scheduled toward the end of the month.