Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

ZAPPIA () (): We live in uncertain times. The climate change transition, extreme weather events, global conflicts, tens of millions of displaced people or refugees around the world and now the cost of living all becoming global phenomena is leaving people feeling very insecure. For millions of people, life is worse than insecure; it is a struggle for survival. For people in war zones, fleeing conflict or living in extreme poverty, their survival is dependent on the generosity of others.

A recent statement issued by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference said, about the state of the world:

The last century was the most violent in human history, with the piles of corpses of Auschwitz and Hiroshima its demonic emblem. At the dawn of the new century and the third millennium there were hopes for a time of peace. But that was not to be. In 2022, it was reported that there were 55 state-based conflicts around the world and 82 non-state conflicts. According to the United Nations, this is the highest number of violent conflicts the world has faced since the Second World War. Two billion people live in countries wracked by such conflicts. We are all too aware of some conflicts such as the slaughter in Ukraine and the Holy Land, with the media saturated with reports of these wars and the immense human suffering they bring. But other conflicts – without the same global implications, perhaps – tend to be overlooked or forgotten. The scale of human suffering is immense, the loss incalculable.

I recently met with representatives of Micah Australia, a coalition of Christian international development agencies who advocate for global justice. Micah is calling for Australian overseas aid to increase from the current figure of 0.68 per cent of the federal budget to one per cent, a figure that was surpassed—reaching 1.28 per cent—back in 2012. I acknowledge that, in dollar terms, the amount has actually risen, but, in proportion to the Australian budget, it has actually diminished. In support of their ask, Micah quotes the following statistics: 700 million people still live in extreme poverty, one in five children live in a conflict zone, and there has been an 80 per cent rise in humanitarian need since 2019.

I understand well that, at a time when many Australians are struggling with the cost of living, there will be community pushback against Australia sending more money overseas. However, as Micah correctly points out, it is in Australia's national interest to provide overseas aid for the following reasons. Firstly, foreign aid provides security and stability for developing countries. Twenty-two out of 26 of Australia's nearest neighbours are developing countries. Foreign aid also provides increased economic security for developing countries and, in turn, trade opportunities for Australia, in addition to reduced migration pressures. Additionally, Australia has a moral obligation, as an advanced nation, to deliver life-changing services, support education and improve health outcomes in some of the world's poorest regions. Ten of Australia's top 15 export markets today are countries that once received Australian aid—proof that foreign aid ultimately has national benefits.

In speaking about foreign aid, I also take this opportunity to recognise and thank the churches in the Makin electorate, which I represent, who almost without exception run overseas aid programs, as do most of the service clubs in Makin. Collectively, the aid provided by those groups changes lives. They don't have the resources and influence of governments but they do have the compassion and the moral conviction to make a difference, to the extent that they can, and they do this with individual programs. I personally know of some of the programs and the lives that have been changed by the people who are behind those programs.

It's often said that problems are sometimes too big for small entities to do much about. It's a comment that I hear all too often: 'What can I do about it?' The reality is that if you can do something to change just one person's life, that is still worthwhile. The churches and service groups that I work with in the Makin electorate, who are all involved in foreign aid programs, are doing exactly that each and every day.

With respect to foreign aid, I also want to touch on the situation in Palestine. Every day, we wake up to fresh news of bombings of civilian targets by Israel and the loss of more—sometimes dozens of—innocent lives, including women, children and elderly people. Indeed, one statistic I was looking at suggests that some 42,000 Palestinians have been killed since the 7 October event. In addition to all of those killed, there are tens of thousands who have been maimed or left homeless and without shelter, food and water. My concern is not only the loss of those lives. My concern is equally that foreign aid to assist those people who desperately need it is being obstructed. We read reports about that each and every day.

Of course Israel has the right to defend itself, and the hostages held by Hamas should be freed. The atrocities that occurred on 7 October quite rightfully should be, and have been, condemned, and I condemn them equally. But that does not justify, in my view, the relentless brutality being inflicted upon the innocent Palestinian people trying to flee for their lives or simply trying to survive. Their lives also matter and they too have a right to live.

The carnage is taking place whilst the world effectively looks on. I want to quote comments made by Judge Nawaf Salam, President of the International Court of Justice:

Israel's commission of inhumane acts against the Palestinians as part of an institutionalised regime of systematic oppression and domination, and its intention to maintain that regime, are undeniably the expression of a policy that is tantamount to apartheid.

This is also the conclusion reached by United Nations Special Rapporteurs on the Occupied Palestinian Territory since 2007 … mainstream organizations such as Amnesty International … and Human Rights Watch … and renowned Israeli human rights organizations.

Recently, Australia voted with 158 other countries in recognising permanent sovereignty of the Palestinian people in the occupied Palestinian lands. World opinion is turning against Israel, and the calls for Israel to stop the carnage and allow unrestricted aid to the Palestinian people are growing louder.

I know that this matter has now been going on for over a year, and I do understand the complexities of it. But, whilst people argue about terminology—whether it's apartheid, whether it's genocide—to me that's a side issue. What matters to me is the lives of innocent people, each and every day, being lost. I understand that amongst those some 13,000 are children. I don't know if the statistics are absolutely accurate, but I suspect they are somewhere near the mark even if they're not. Yet that is happening whilst the world effectively looks the other way. It is time that the 'war'—call it what you like—is stopped. It is time that the killing is stopped. It is time that we provide the aid that those people desperately need.