It is interesting to note that major project house builders are now offering smaller houses with fewer expensive fittings again. 3 bedroom houses are a major feature of a new design of houses for one of NSW’s largest project home builders. 

Land is very expensive in our capital cities, but at least now it is easier to build cheaper homes.  And so to those who think they MUST work to pay off a hefty mortgage, consider what is now on offer and what is considerably cheaper. 

Good post Sandy!

Hi Sandy,

I was talking to a friend here about this issue today. She told me that here in Mexico you get 6 weeks leave before the baby is born, then six weeks after - then its back to work! It is very common for grandmas / nannies / friends to bring the baby in to work to be fed in the carpark or the lunchroom!

I asked her if this was necessary because families couldn’t afford to be without the second income. She said in some cases yes - people generally live closer to the breadline (tortilla-line) here, but in many cases it was actually a self-worth / can’t get off the career train for a few years sort of attitude.

Oh - and schools, volunteer organisations etc have exactly the same complaint here as in Australia. There is no one to come and help the kids in school, help coach the teams etc. All these things are being professionalised and outsourced.

Pete

Hi Philip (first comment),
I’m wondering if the rise of 3 bedroom homes by builders may also have something to do with more people restricting the size of their families to 2 kids. Just a thought on a side issue…
And Sandy, thanks for your article. I agree that an underlying issue is the belief that unpaid work is not worthwhile work. As a mother, I come across this opinion all the time (“what do you do all day? etc). I’m trying to get better at quick explanations of the value of raising children and managing a home, without making anyone who has to return to work feel guilty about it.

Professional women married to professional men generally have reasonable maternity leave, and can afford to take more time off, or even stop working, depending on how substantial their mortgage is.  The various talkback speakers are from this part of the economy, I think, and they may not accurately reflect the mind of the Government anyway.

Life’s a bit different at the bottom end of the labour market, where job security is much lower, along with the pay, and the legal requirement is merely six weeks’ unpaid leave.  How many women actually want to be at work at that point?  And how much choice do they actually have?  (Mortgages probably aren’t in the picture at all.)

You might be doing Elizabeth Broderick an injustice, too.  The reason women need to stay attached to the labour market is because of the divorce rate (~40%).  Divorce is a financial disaster for most women, but particularly for those who have been out of the workforce for a while—it’s harder to get a job, and it’s usually a lower-paid job if they do get one.  That translates to more social security payments, and higher public health costs, for mother and children.  In economic terms, it’s therefore more productive to keep women ‘attached to’ the workforce. 

And that’s leaving aside death or disablement of the breadwinner (still common), and the fact that most men these days no longer have have the level of job security enjoyed by Anglican ministers.  Ahem.

FTR:  I’m married, 2 kids, permanent part-time librarian; hubby has a full-time IT job which relies on venture capital funding, and we have a mortgage in an unfashionable Sydney suburb.  My parents divorced in 1976.

I am a full-time homemaker who has found that the argument of a mortgage to pay off is ridiculous. We don’t need to work to pay off a mortgage. We need to accept that we cannot have everything that we want.

My husband and I did have a mortgage but we sold it to finance three years of theological study for my husband. I’m pretty sure we’ll be living in rented houses for the rest of our earthly lives. But I’m not going to be here forever, am I? There is a place in heaven for me (John 14:1-4) that will be better than anything I could ever buy or rent here.

I to fell for the lie that both husband and wife need to have full time jobs just to even rent. Sometimes I’m realy glad that I am wrong