Debate resumed, on motion by Mr Wood:

That the House:

(1)

notes that:

(a)

microfinance has proven to be a particularly effective and sustainable means of eradicating poverty;

(b)

microfinance borrowers, particularly women, generate income that allows them to feed, clothe, educate and care for the health of their children;

(c)

in December 2006, 93 million of the poorest people had access to microfinance services, which is a 12-fold increase since 1997;

(d)

in support of the poverty eradication goal of the Millennium Development Goals, the Microcredit Summit Campaign, launched in 1997, is working to expand microfinance to 175 million of the poorest people by 2015;

(e)

the Microcredit Summit Campaign is holding an Asia-Pacific Microcredit Summit in Bali between 29 and 30 July 2008;

(f)

the Asia-Pacific region contains 64 per cent of the world’s population who live in absolute poverty, and as such it has a large unmet need for credit and other financial services; and

(g)

the Bali Summit is a significant opportunity to examine ways to expand the use and effectiveness of microfinance in the region and to realise the Government’s policy objective of reducing poverty in the Asia-Pacific region; and

(2)

urges the Australian Government to send the appropriate Minister and appropriate Shadow Minister as leaders of an Australian delegation to the Asia-Pacific Microcredit Summit in Bali in July 2008.

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