Babies, budgets, and birthrates: Work/family policy in Australia 1996-2006

Work/family reconciliation policies can be harnessed to diverse political agendas, ranging from feminist-inspired equality strategies to coercive, neo-liberal programs. In Australia, such policies have served a range of ends under different governments. This article focuses on developments since 1996 when the conservative coalition parties led by John Howard were elected to government. It explores three policy domains that are central to Australia's work/family agenda: family payments, maternity/parental leave, and child care. Changes in these areas are situated in the context of the government's broader strategies concerning labor market flexibility, tax reform, and declining fertility. The article argues that there has been a substantial retreat from the "femocrat" strategies adopted under Labor in the 1980s and early 1990s. The general thrust of the Howard government has been to discourage labor force participation of mothers of young children, with the important exception of sole parents. In a number of areas policies are inconsistent, reflecting the government's ambivalence about whether to support women as home-based carers, wage earners, or both.