The Aporia · Jim's Mowing founder says Australia's birth rate is dropping because we're getting too much dopamine

Jim's Mowing founder says Australia's birth rate is dropping because we're getting too much dopamine - as he reveals his radical plan to fix it

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Nickel, A. (2026, October 4). Jim's Mowing founder says Australia's birth rate is dropping because we're getting too much dopamine - as he reveals his radical plan to fix it. Daily Mail. https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16182027/Jim-Penman-mowing-birth-rate-drug.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490

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Quick Summary

Jim Penman, founder of Jim’s Mowing and father of at least 10 children across multiple marriages, proposes developing a drug he calls "anti-cocaine" to address Australia's declining birth rate. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the country's fertility rate dropped to an all-time low of 1.48 births per woman in 2024, down from 1.69 in 2021. Penman attributes this decline to increased availability of vices like gambling and junk food, which he believes provide a "dopamine rush" that makes family life less appealing. His company Epigenes is collaborating with La Trobe University on the drug development, aiming to make relationships and children more attractive by reducing excessive dopamine levels. However, experts such as Dr. Liz Allen from Australian National University argue that socioeconomic factors like housing affordability and cost of living are major contributors to the declining birth rate rather than a "dopamine overload."

Written by AI on 2026-10-04, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

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Story summary

Jim Penman, founder of Jim's Mowing and father to at least 10 children across multiple marriages, believes that Australia’s declining birth rate is due to an excess of dopamine caused by factors like gambling, alcohol, drugs, and junk food. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the country’s fertility rate dropped to a record low of 1.48 births per woman in 2024. This follows a slight increase to 1.69 in 2021 after COVID-19 lockdowns but has been decreasing annually since then. Penman is funding the development of a drug similar to an anti-cocaine, which would reduce dopamine levels in the brain by making it less sensitive to dopamine, akin to how cocaine use affects the brain. The fertility rate has been below the replacement level of 2.1 since the mid-1970s.

Written for “Australia Birth Rate Debate” on 2026-11-04, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

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2 of 14 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

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69/100

Daily Mail's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

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articles that frame the event the way this one does

Who wrote this

Ashley Nickel

88 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction

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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 88 articles by Ashley Nickel →

Claims (14 extracted, 2 hedged)

Multimillionaire businessman Jim Penman is seeking to develop a drug he dubbed 'anti-cocaine' to fix Australia's low birth rate. asserted

he → seek → rate

Penman, the founder of Jim's Mowing and father of at least 10 children across multiple marriages, has long believed Australia's waning birth rate is due to a rise in 'dopamine' being found outside the traditional family unit. asserted

rate → believe → unit

The Australian Bureau of Statistics in August released the fertility data for 2024 and found Australia's birth rate had dropped to its lowest level on record, with just 1.48 births recorded per woman. asserted

births → release → woman

The total fertility rate is the average number of children an Australian woman is expected to have between the ages of 15 and 49. A slight increase was recorded to 1.69 in 2021, following Covid lockdowns, but levels fell every year after, hitting 1.49 in 2023. asserted

levels → expect → 2023

Penman became convinced the fall in births were the result of the rising availability of gambling, alcohol, drugs and junk food back in his university days. asserted

fall → rise → days

He believed the 'dopamine rush' from the vices made children and family relationships 'less stimulating'. asserted

children → believe → vices

Jim Penman (centre), the founder of Jim's Mowing and father of at least 10 children across multiple marriages, believes Australians are suffering from too much dopamine Penman (above) is funding the development of a drug 'like an anti-cocaine' to tackle the excess dopamine he believes is responsible for declining birth rates 'It floods the brain with dopamine, that makes the brain less sensitive to dopamine … similar to what happens when you take cocaine or other drugs,' he said, News.com.au reported. asserted

he → believe → cocaine

Ahead of his bid for the Northcote seat in Victoria's upcoming state election, Penman revealed his 'philanthropic' private research organisation, Epigenes, is working to create a drug 'like an anti-cocaine'. asserted

organisation → reveal → cocaine

'On an individual level we need to get rid of these dopamine surges causing the problems - sex, porn, social media, gambling,' he said. asserted

he → need → problems

'A more realistic solution is to develop treatments so things like family and children become more attractive. asserted

things → develop → family

'If you could develop such a treatment, it would have dramatic consequences for anxiety, depression, alcoholism.' Epigenes is researching the potential for Penman's drug in partnership with La Trobe University. uncertain

Epigenes → develop → University

However, Dr Liz Allen, a demographer at Australian National University, was quick to dismiss Penman's claims the birth rate decline was due to a dopamine overload. uncertain

decline → dismiss → overload

'Let's be clear here, Australians are not foregoing children because they are hedonistic and selfish,' she told 7News. asserted

she → let → 7News

Penman (above) believes the falling birth rate is because Australians are finding dopamine outside the family unit - including in gambling, junk food, pornography and social media 'Declining total fertility rates cannot be pinned down to one thing.' Instead, she pointed to larger socioeconomic issues - like the growing cost of living, housing affordability and global instability. asserted

she → believe → living

Jim's Mowing founder says Australia's birth rate is dropping because we're getting too much dopamine - as he reveals his radical plan to fix it

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Claims (14 extracted, 2 hedged)