Be fruitful and multiply

last updated 8 January 2015

Canberra, Australia

Australian Treasurer Peter Costello said this week that the government would start giving cash bonuses to women for having more babies. Every baby born after June 30 will net its mother $2,000. The new incentive was unveiled in an election-year budget that Australian papers have dubbed the “erection budget.” Costello said the measure is necessary to ensure that Australia will continue to produce enough taxpayers to support the aging population. “You go home and do your patriotic duty tonight,” he told reporters. Costello, a father of three, said three was the ideal number of kids: “One for your husband, one for your wife, and one for your country.”