What do three childfree advocates and three conservative commentators have in common? Not a lot. But this is why you’ll find them taking part in a debate on SBS’s youth-focused current affairs program, The Feed. The six participants will thrash out an urgent question in light of Australia’s plummeting birth rate: “Why are more people choosing a childfree life, and should having kids still be a priority?”
According to the debate’s producer and moderator, journalist Elfy Scott, “there were surprising moments of agreement from both sides of the panel.” Surprising indeed, given the profiles of the speakers.
Promoting the childfree lifestyle are model and actor Ellie Gonsalves, who in 2023 went viral for posting 118 reasons why she doesn’t want kids; comedian and One Nation critic, Andrew Lewis; and Dita, a nurse and content creator who posts about racism and family violence.
On the opposing side are single mother and anti-abortion activist Elspeth McKellar, who creates confrontational content for Joanna Howe’s organisation Bird Flip; George Mamalis, South Australian head of the late Charlie Kirk’s right-wing advocacy group Turning Point USA, who has advocated against abortion and called feminism a “death cult”; and Stephanie Bastiaan, a mother of six and head of advocacy at Women’s Forum, an organisation critical of pro-trans activism.
“We want to bring people together outside of those polarising algorithms, and give them the space to speak openly, but then also ensure that they’re fact-checked in that context,” says Scott. “We think it is important to be able to facilitate these conversations, even if they are challenging, and to draw people out of things that they see online, and ensure that we can give perspectives across a broad range.”
Scott has sat in the moderator’s chair for many a passionate discussion at literary festivals. She is no stranger to provocative subject matter, having authored The One Thing We’ve Never Spoken About, exploring the stigma around mental illness, inspired by her mother’s experience living with schizophrenia. She’s also presented ABC documentaries investigating everything from psychic mediums and UFO sightings to conspiracy theories.
But moderating this potentially explosive forum required “keeping everybody on track as far as the topic is concerned, and keeping the debate respectful and civil … It’s such a significant conversation right now. And we need to hear from the young people making these decisions.”
Aimed at the 16-39 demographic, the semiannual Feed debates put millennials in charge of the agenda. Other episodes have had influencers from the left and right debating politics, socialists and property investors debating whether capitalism is expiring, and an array of prominent voices from the online sphere debating masculinity.
“This is a key moment in history where we are seeing the fertility rate decline to a level we’ve never seen before,” says Scott. “We are facing unique issues – economic issues, political issues, global stability issues and climate issues. So there’s a lot for people to consider that previous generations have not had to.”
Scott won’t be drawn on her personal position, adding “I am still internally debating.” But she says it is a question that is frequently raised in her social circles.
“I feel like I have had a million conversations with friends and family about it. It’s the conversation we’re all having at family barbecues. For myself, as a woman in her early 30s, it is absolutely a decision that is relevant to me, and one that I enjoy hearing every perspective on … When we’re talking about issues related to AI and climate, which do come up in the debate, those are inherently political topics. I think people are becoming more apprehensive about parenthood because of things like that.”
She hopes the debate starts conversations among viewers of all generations.
“This topic is so exposed in the media at the moment, but very, very rarely are we actually hearing from the young people themselves … And I would love for older audiences to have that exposure to people from younger generations, and the range of factors that are going into this decision.
“It’s not a simple choice. And that’s what a lot of young people are feeling right now – this push and pull, regarding whether or not to become a parent.”