Melissa Parke (Fremantle, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Australians have been horrified at the kidnapping of more than 250 schoolgirls in Nigeria. I know every member in this place wishes to see them returned safely to their families as soon as possible. The essence of this crime is the calculated denial of education to girls and women. It is a form of oppression that consigns women to lives of unrealised potential, to mistreatment and to powerlessness. It is a form of discrimination and tyranny that consigns whole nations to poverty and suffering. It comes from the same instinct that motivated the Taliban attack on 14-year-old Malala Yousafzai, who had the courage to openly advocate for the education of girls in Pakistan.

I draw members' attention to the piece by Ian Wishart, the CEO of Plan International, in TheAustralian today on the transformative impact of education for girls. He notes:

Each extra year of secondary school increases a girl’s potential income by up to 25 per cent while cutting infant mortality as much as 10 per cent.

Unfortunately, as Mr Wishart says, it takes the abduction of hundreds of terrified young girls to remind us that the right to education is a daily battle for millions of girls.

Australia makes a critical contribution to supporting the education of girls in developing countries. In the context of the Nigerian kidnapping, we should recognise that practical and effective foreign aid prevents terrorism, creates opportunities and builds resilience in developing countries. Foreign aid has never been more important and it must be shielded from further cuts in the budget.