Jill Hall (Shortland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I would like to acknowledge the presence in the chamber today of the year 11 students from throughout Australia who are here representing Rotary. I welcome them to the parliament and hope that they enjoy their time here. I rise to present a collection of letters and cards containing the thoughts of people from the Summerland Point Community Baptist Church. They have requested that I do this on their behalf for the world’s poor. The cards that I have received all state:

This year 27,000 children in the developing world will not live to see their fifth birthday. Australia can help by devoting more of its aid budget to child and maternal health. Please ask the Prime Minister to raise health aid to $1.2 billion by 2011. This will be around 20 per cent of the aid budget. It will see Australia giving its fair share to the aid funds needed by poor countries to build effective health systems.

I will read from a couple of the letters from the children. This one is from Shae Bruhn:

At present I am sitting at the table with a bunch of healthy children that have lived past their fifth birthday. To think that children are dying from preventable reasons is completely unacceptable. Please advocate for the poor of Australia and over the world by promoting an increase in financial aid.

And from James Bennett:

Listen carefully and you will hear the cries of young children. I am 13 years old and I am glad to make it past the age of five. I would like to see Australia give more money to help poor children of the world so they can go to school, have water and health care and more birthdays.

Some adults wrote to me as well. Ursula Hardy said:

I would ask that government increases the aid devoted to children and maternal health in developing countries. Our country and people are blessed with an abundance of resources, and aid to those less fortunate in our country and overseas is one way we can help and share our blessings. I would ask that you increase aid to $1.2 billion by 2011-12.

Ruth Murdoch says:

When I see on television children who have malnutrition I grieve, especially when I know that there have been times when food has been dumped in Australia when growers cannot get the price they want. How can we as a nation turn a blind eye to the situation?

I have beautiful drawings from people and I have other letters that express similar concerns. I am privileged to place on record the words of the community of Summerland Point Baptist Church and, at the same time, acknowledge the work that the Hon. Bob McMullan MP, Parliamentary Secretary for International Development Assistance, and the Rudd government have done in this area to date. (Time expired)

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