Maria Vamvakinou (Calwell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1)

notes:

(a)

the pledge, first made by Australia in the year 2000, to spare no effort to free our fellow men, women and children from the abject and dehumanising conditions of extreme poverty, to which more than a billion are currently subjected;

(b)

that with only five years until the international goals to address extreme poverty are due, there is now an urgent need to recommit ourselves to this task; and

(c)

that our actions of the past 20 years have already succeeded in halving rates of extreme poverty, and within a generation we can and will make poverty history; and

(2)

welcomes the ‘Make Poverty History’ campaign to ensure that we do our fair share to achieve all the Millennium Development Goals.

Recently the Australian parliament hosted the Make Poverty History Road Trip, whereby our young Australians from cities across Australia came to Canberra, where they were welcomed by one of the largest gatherings of parliamentarians I have seen during my time as a member of parliament. There was a series of addresses, including a welcoming address by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Hon. Stephen Smith. The strong presence of MPs at that function denotes just how important the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals are to this parliament. In particular, it also reflects the amazing work done by the Make Poverty History campaign.

I have had a longstanding commitment to the global campaign to end poverty and I fondly recall being permitted or allowed—or rather tolerated—by former Speaker Neil Andrew to sit in the chamber with a T-shirt on which was printed with the words ‘Make Poverty History’. I want to take this opportunity to thank former Speaker Andrew for his tolerance, as we all know that T-shirts with slogans are outside the standing orders. He recognised, as I am sure you do, Mr Deputy Speaker, the importance of having to convey such messages in ever-creative ways in this chamber.

This is an issue which is important to me and my work because my social and political commitment to justice, in all its forms, is the objective that continues to drive my own passion for politics. The reality is that these forms of justice cannot be achieved when extreme poverty continues to hold down generation after generation of people across the globe. My commitment—and no doubt this parliament’s commitment—to advancing policies and ideas that will help us achieve our Millennium Development Goals is on the public record, and I will continue to work, as I am sure my colleagues will, towards helping ensure that we all do our fair share to achieve these goals.

It is encouraging to see that the Make Poverty History movement in Australia and around the world has not been just a fad, built around a Live Aid concert or a one-off charity event, but has become an ongoing and systematic campaign which is helping translate its objectives into the policies of government. Through such campaigns, spearheaded by an army of young Australians such as those we witnessed during parliament some weeks ago, we have seen the rates of extreme poverty decrease considerably. We can also be proud of our aid efforts in the Pacific, which have assisted in wiping out the crippling effects of polio in our region.

I was pleased that the most recent federal budget included a commitment to increasing the level of development and humanitarian assistance to the tune of half a billion dollars. This increase is important because it recognises that as we move beyond the current global economic environment we do not leave behind the world’s most vulnerable people. In recognising the importance of these additional funds, which build on previous increases of similar magnitude, I would like to note —and I am sure I am not alone in this—that Australia can do more to help better achieve the goals to which it has committed itself.

This recognition is important because it is not a campaign about charity, but one of justice. It is about our responsibilities. We, in benefiting from the global economic system from which the poorest of the world suffer, owe it to them to help them lift their standards of living so that the egalitarian values that drive our own development can be reflected across the globe. So, while each of us in this House has our own special social, political and economic visions of the world which we would like to see for the future, I think we need to recognise a certain reality.

Imagine for a moment a world where one per cent of humanity controls 40 per cent of wealth. Imagine a world where one financial institution alone is provided with enough money that could have gone towards eliminating malnutrition in the world, enough money to provide education for every child, enough money for water and sanitation for all, and indeed enough money to reverse the spread of fatal diseases. Imagine a world where a campaign against war includes a level of funding so that, instead of the blood, sweat and tears of vulnerable children, men and women, it could all be used to feed some of the very children who die from wars.

That world is our world. We must imagine the possibilities of a different world and create it and, in making history, we need to make poverty history. I want to commend the work of all those involved in the Make Poverty History Road Trip, and I hope that this road one day leads us to a more inclusive world free from the abject and dehumanising conditions of extreme poverty, to which more than a billion of our fellow men, women and children are currently subjected.

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