assets don't

sale of a house in which they have capital gains and pay capital gains tax WILL contribute to it. that's with thanks to the tax department

BM - it's nothing to do with c'link - they just administer what the government of the day say they have to. the baby bonus was being abused by a portion of the community - it was widely known as the plasma bonus. KRudd has done what, IMO, should have been done in the first place. initially the maternity payment/baby bonus was there to increase population growth (one for her, one for him, one for the country) but population growth stabilised and the payment was no longer intended for that purpose - it was then changed by the Labour government to reflect financial assistance for lower income families to try and help in keeping mothers at home for those crucial first six months. a lump sum payment doesn't do that. it doesn't supplement any part of a wage. it gives the person money they can spend in a lump sum - but what do you really NEED for baby at that point - unless you've not taken the months before birth (and let's be realistic, almost everyone knows they are pg for 6 months before a term birth) to prepare? the payment can take up to a month to administer once paperwork is in, and you have months to submit it - so it's not going to help you with immediate needs when baby arrives anyway!

yes, for some people, the lump sum seems more beneficial - who doesn't want to have $5k go into the bank - but the reality of it is that, even though the name has not yet changed, the baby "bonus" is no longer a BONUS - it's a form of income support for eligible families. i have no issue cutting the payment to higher income families (i DO have an issue with having a hard cut off point though - it should be a sliding scale). i have no issue with it being paid fortnightly (for some, that fortnightly payment for those six weeks will be enough to supplement mortgage or rent - MUCH more important than a large payment to buy STUFF)

not everyone is going to agree - this is MY opinion only. well, maybe not just mine - it obviously has been studied by governement advisors who believe it will be more beneficial to the majority of lower income families to do what it is meant to do - to help them survive financially after the birth of a baby