$45,000 baby grant won't fix falling birth rate, expert says

NZ women are having fewer babies — not enough to keep the population steady without migration, says demographer Professor Paul Spoonley. He expects the birth rate to keep falling. NZ First is proposing up to $45,000 per family to encourage more children. But Spoonley says cash handouts only give a short lift, pointing to Sweden, where bigger payments failed to stop births declining.