Craig Kelly (Hughes, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

First, I would like to congratulate the member for Corangamite for bringing this motion, because the work of UNICEF over the last 70 years is something we should celebrate. We have seen reductions in childhood poverty and child mortality greater than at any time in human history. We have witnessed, in our own lifetimes, an unparalleled level of advancement in global living standards. By virtually every measure—be it food, sanitation, life expectancy, child mortality, literacy, education, travel or communication—life has significantly improved, faster than at any time in mankind's history.

But more needs to be done—much more. Despite the great progress we have made over the last 70 years, across the globe today there are still over 385 million children living in extreme poverty, and there are still 24 million children today who will never have the opportunity to enter a classroom for even a single day in their life. Without further improvements it is estimated that, by the year 2030, more than 70 million children under the age of five will die largely from preventable diseases.

As we formulate the policies to tackle these problems, to improve on these numbers and to alleviate poverty, we know what works. It is not demands for social justice or sustainability, or rants about inequality; the historical record is crystal clear as to what works to alleviate poverty. Firstly, it is the maintenance of peace—a peace that often must be won and protected at the point of a gun. We also should remember not only UNICEF but all those serving in United Nations peace missions around the world that contributed to that peace. Secondly, it is freedom—economic and personal freedom. It is freedom: the encouragement of free enterprise; freedom of trade; protection of private property rights; governance by the rule of law; and, of course, freedom of speech. It is these freedoms that have been the drivers of wealth creation and sustained economic growth. And the historical record is unambiguously clear. It shows that, by implementing policies that protect these freedoms, those, in turn, drive sustained economic growth. And that is the most effective way of reducing poverty and increasing opportunities for children across the planet.

The evidence is clear. The countries that adopt high levels of economic growth grow more rapidly and have greater decreases in their levels of poverty and greater improvements in their health and mortality rates—especially amongst children. We have seen the evidence recently in a country like Venezuela: it has forgotten about the importance of economic freedom and now has a higher level of child mortality than even war-torn Syria. In the years to come, we cannot lose focus on what has worked in the past and the ways we have had these enormous successes.

As the member for Corangamite rightly points out, UNICEF will celebrate its 70th anniversary on 11 December 2016. We stand here to congratulate them for their work. We congratulate them for the great achievements in the reduction in poverty over the past 70 years. But we should refocus ourselves on continuing to tackle those 385 million children who are living in extreme poverty today. We should focus on what has worked in the past. Those two most important things are: the maintenance of peace and the protection of freedoms. I commend this motion to the House.

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