Here are some research articles that they did not bother to consider

by T A Wiegers, M J N C Keirse, J van der Zee, and G A H Berghs
BMJ 23 November 1996; 313: 1309-1313.
'Conclusions: The outcome of planned home births is at least as good as that of planned hospital births in women at low risk receiving midwifery care in the Netherlands.'
'In multiparous women, perinatal outcome was significantly better for planned home births than for planned hospital births, with or without control for background variables.'

Ursula Ackermann-Liebrich, Thomas Voegeli, Kathrin Gunter-Witt, Isabelle Kunz, Maja Zullig, Christian Schindler, Margrit Maurer, and Zurich Study Team
BMJ 23 November 1996; 313: 1313-1318
'During delivery the home birth group needed significantly less medication and fewer interventions whereas no differences were found in durations of labour, occurrence of severe perineal lesions, and maternal blood loss. Perinatal death was recorded in one planned hospital delivery and one planned home delivery (overall perinatal mortality 2.3/1000). There was no difference between home and hospital delivered babies in birth weight, gestational age, or clinical condition. Apgar scores were slightly higher and umbilical cord pH lower in home births, but these differences may have been due to differences in clamping and the time of transportation'.
Conclusion: 'Healthy low risk women who wish to deliver at home have no increased risk either to themselves or to their babies.'

Howe KA
Med J Aust 1988 Sep 19;149(6):296-7, 300, 302
This study covered 165 women planning a home birth with a registered midwife. 31% of the women were first-time mothers. 16% of the study group transferred to hospital, 5% of the group had an assisted delivery, and 1% had caesareans. One baby died, from congenital abnormalities.
'The conclusion is drawn that women who choose to have a home birth in the south-west of Western Australia may do so with a high degree of safety.'

By Wood**** HC, Read AW, Bower C, Stanley FJ, Moore DJ
Midwifery 1994 Sep;10(3):125-35
976 women who booked a home birth were compared with a matched group of 2,928 women planning a hospital birth. Women in the home birth group had longer labours (presumably because they would not have been accelerated with drugs or other interventions), but were less likely to have induction, caesarean, or other operative delivery, and were less likely to have complications of labour overall. However, the home birth group was more likely to have third stage problems such as heavy bleeding or retained placenta (perhaps because home birth mothers were more likely to specify a natural third stage? For example, I chose to have a physiological third stage to avoid side-effects of the drugs involved - often nausea - and early cord clamping, even though I was aware that heavy blood loss was more likely).
Babies in the home birth group were in better condition at birth - hospital group babies were more likely to take a while to start breathing, to need resuscitation, and to have Apgar scores under 8. Perinatal mortality was slightly higher overall in the home birth group - no explanation for this is given, but the authors of the study state that the increase was not (statistically) significant. However, neonatal mortality (after birth) was significantly higher in the hospital group. The authors note that more research is needed.
'KEY CONCLUSIONS: Planned home births in Western Australia appear to be associated with less overall maternal and neonatal morbidity and less intervention than hospital births.'

Also Western Australia are planning to increase their funding of homebirth. I don?t think that the Western Australian Government would consider putting more money into home births if they did not believe it was safe