Kay Hull (Riverina, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That the House:

(1)

supports the Australian aid program’s focus on eradication of poverty and corruption in developing countries;

(2)

supports the Australian aid program’s efforts to overcome the impact of poverty and corruption and to strengthen democratic institutions by promotion of good governance with specific reference to women and children in developing countries;

(3)

calls on the Parliament to encourage the Australian aid program to promote the human rights of, and the elimination of discrimination against, women and children in developing countries, in activities that:

(a)

support the elimination of gender-based discrimination—such as land, inheritance and property rights, family law, gender-based violence and discrimination in employment; and

(b)

support equitable access (including legal representation) for women and children to the legal system.

Corruption is a major brake on our efforts to reform poverty reduction in many countries in the Asia-Pacific region. Corruption undermines aid effectiveness and particularly impacts on the most disadvantaged, including women. At the Millennium Summit in 2005, the Prime Minister committed to increasing the Australian aid program to around $4 billion per annum by 2010. Increases in aid will be conditional on strengthened governance and reduced corruption in our partner countries, and I wholeheartedly support this approach. I am very pleased to have the member for Pearce second my motion today for she has a great commitment to and understanding of women’s issues, and her leadership of the Australian delegation to the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the IPU, is powerful and determined, particularly in support of developing countries and gender equality.

Gender inequalities intensify poverty and perpetuate it from one generation to the next, preventing women and girls from taking up opportunities that could potentially make them and their families less vulnerable to poverty. Capacity enhancement for women in impoverished countries can begin with the simple initiative of access to microfinance. Women in villages and communities can grow and prosper by having the finances to purchase, for instance, a sewing machine. This simple act that we in developed countries take for granted can mean freedom from abuse for women and their children in many developing countries.

Violence against women and children is always an area of particular concern. A measure that is needed to support legislative change and more effective law and justice responses or support services for women and children is public advocacy by civil society organisations. In fact, women and children need easy access to legal prosecution options and avenues so that they can be protected. This, as I indicated, must be an easily accessible option for women and children in developing countries.

The white paper on Australia’s overseas aid program has gender as an overarching principle. Australia’s commitment requires that the views, needs, interests and rights of women and girls shape the development agenda as much as those of men and boys; that women and men participate in and benefit equally from aid programs; and that development supports progress towards equality between women and men and between boys and girls. Our Australian aid program is also taking steps to improve the economic status of women and to promote the equal participation of women in decision-making and leadership, including the promotion and protection of the human rights of women and girls in the law and justice sector service delivery. The Australian aid program is also taking steps to promote equitable health and education outcomes for women and children and to advance issues of gender equality in regional cooperation efforts. I am very proud of the process that the Australian government has undertaken in the past few years with its aid programs.

The aid program established a human rights fund of $2.5 million in 2006-07, which supports the very issues I am interested in. These issues in particular are supported in the Human Rights Small Grants Scheme for mostly non-government organisation projects—for example, raising the profile of children’s rights in Fiji. The small grant projects are a fantastic opportunity for women and children to get the support they require.

Human rights are also supported through bilateral, regional and non-government organisation programs. For example, Australia’s assistance to Papua New Guinea’s law and justice sector has improved access to justice and promoted the rights of women and children. Public prosecutors and investigators have been trained in sexual assault law, and the operation of village court systems has been improved through a major training program for court officials.

In closing, might I say that I am very proud of our process and our actions, and I urge the Australian government to proceed even further in ensuring those rights of access for women and children to the legal system. (Time expired)

See this speech in context