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

On Tuesday I was visited by four young people from my electorate and surrounding electorates who were representing Micah Challenge. They visited me with the goal of improving the situation in global poverty. They pointed out to me that it was one of the most significant challenges facing our world today and that since 2000 there has been an international effort to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. They were placing particular emphasis on Millennium Development Goal 4. They also lobbied me very strongly to increase the aid budget in the area of 2.7. I am very supportive of that increase and I think there are many members of this House who are also supportive of it.

When these young people came to visit me they asked me to make the Millennium Development Goals central to my policies and what I stand for. I am happy to do that. They asked me to sign the Micah Call giant scroll. I did that, as did many of the other members of this House. They also asked me if I would be prepared to make a speech in parliament, and that is what I am doing today.

One of the churches in my electorate held a birthday party for Survive Past Five, which concentrates on Millennium Development Goal 4. At that birthday party they put together a card, which they delivered to me. The card emphasises that every child around the world should be able to enjoy a fifth birthday, which I think is something that all members of this House would agree with. The card points out how important Millennium Development Goal 4 is and that it aims to reduce child mortality by two-thirds from the 1990 levels by 2015. The young people went on to say that it saddens them that so many children in the 18 of the 29 developing countries in our region are not achieving this record.

Last year I visited PNG with the Standing Committee on Health and Ageing, with the specific goal of looking at health issues. PNG has the second worst outcomes in the areas of Millennium Development Goal 4 and Millennium Development Goal 5. I hope that we can work to help them achieve those goals. I seek leave to table birthday cards from young people in my electorate expressing their thoughts and sentiments in this area.

Leave granted.