Mike Symon (Deakin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I speak in support of this motion that calls on Australia to make poverty history and to recommit ourselves as a nation to this urgent task. In the few minutes that I have it is impossible to relate to all eight Millennium Development Goals, so I will only concentrate on MDGs 1 and 4.

Goal 1 is the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger, with targets of halving, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people whose income is less than $1 per day and, in the same time frame, halving the number of people who suffer from hunger, along with achieving full and productive employment and decent work for all, including women and young people. We need to do more and quickly, with 1.4 billion people still in extreme poverty and just five years to go to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. More than three million people continue to live in extreme poverty in the Pacific region.

Goal 4 is the reduction of child mortality, with a target of reducing by two-thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the mortality rate of children under the age of five. In 1997, more than 12.6 million young children died from largely preventable or treatable causes. In 2008, that figure was still around 8.8 million, eight years after the Millennium Development Goals were set. Eighteen of the 29 developing countries in the region are not on track to achieve goal 4, which is reducing child mortality by two-thirds.

I think that one of the biggest problems confronting the global community is the lack of awareness by people who live in wealthy countries of the real and constant daily issues and effects of poverty in developing countries across the globe. That is why the work of organisations like TEAR, Micah Challenge, Make Poverty History and other campaigns by community groups who operate in the sector are so important. With local events, there is the opportunity to speak to people firsthand and to bring their feedback and ideas to this place.

Last Saturday, 29 May, I attended an MDG related forum with the Parliamentary Secretary for International Development Assistance, Bob McMullan—who I note is here tonight—at TEAR Australia’s ‘Survive Past Five’ fifth birthday party, in Nunawading, to talk about progress towards the Millennium Development Goals, in particular MDG 4. After games for the children and speeches for the adults, we got to blow out the candles and cut the fifth birthday cake, which symbolised all of those children in the world who did not survive until their fifth birthday. Also I was presented with this wonderful chain of cardboard cut-out children, which is very nice—there are actually 90 of them there that they put together for me—to bring to this place to show people that locals actually care about the subject as well. Of course, there are much larger events than those that happen locally, but it is good that they do happen locally and that people get out there and get the message across. Last September, Micah Challenge held their fifth birthday party here in Parliament House, with that giant card.

As everyone knows, Australia is still a long way from meeting its goal of contributing 0.7 per cent of our gross national income to official development assistance so that we can meet the MDGs. This year’s budget predicts that our percentage will be 0.33 per cent of GNI, which translates to around $4.39 billion. Just imagine what could be done if we doubled that. The Rudd government has so far increased by nearly $1.2 billion Australia’s ODA from the $3.17 billion that we inherited in the last Howard budget of 2007-08. But it was only as recently as 1984 that the Hawke Labor government was funding ODA at the rate of 0.44 per cent. What happened after that? The rate dropped. It was not only under coalition governments; it also dropped under previous Labor governments. It is on its way back up now, and that is a good thing, but it is going to take a lot of work for Australia ever to get to the 0.7 per cent. I will continue to advocate for greater funding to meet Australia’s commitment to meeting the MDGs, and I thank the member for Calwell for moving this motion in the House.

Debate interrupted.

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