Doug Cameron (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Tonight I rise to acknowledge the work of the Parliamentary Group on Population and Development and the work of the PGDP secretariat chair, Ms Jane Singleton, and the PGDP parliamentary officer, Ms Alice Ruxton.

This is a group that I have been a member of since the commencement of my term of office. Over the last 12 months, I have been involved in a variety of committees and been exposed to a wide range of issues. Nothing has been more important than the issues raised within the PGDP. Today, there are about 200 million women in the developing world with unmet needs for effective contraception. Who would have thought that in 2009 there would be countries in our region where one in 50 women die giving birth to a child? Who would have thought that, in 2009, there are several southern African countries where more than three-quarters of all young people living with HIV are women?

Investment in population and development brings far-reaching and massive benefits. Investment in this area means investment in human rights and gender equality, in respect and equity, and in dignity. It is the right of all men and women to have access to and be informed about safe, effective, affordable and acceptable methods of family planning. It is the right of women to go through a safe pregnancy and childbirth and for couples to be given a proper chance of delivering a healthy infant. Fifteen years ago, world leaders, representatives from non-government organisations, high ranking officials and United Nations agencies met in Cairo for the International Conference on Population and Development. It was here that a 20-year program of action was adopted.

This program emphasised that reproductive health and rights, as well as women’s empowerment and gender equality, are essential to the advancement of women. It focused on the reproductive health needs of women and men. It called on governments to make sure that resources were available to address these human rights issues. The international community reaffirmed its commitment to the program in 1999 and 2004 and will do so again in September this year. Parliamentary groups on population and development are found in 48 countries. Their primary function is to implement the program of action and make its two objectives a reality. These objectives are: (1) a reduction in maternal mortality rates and (2) access to reproductive and sexual health services, including family planning. There is a well-documented link between successful family planning and the reduction of poverty. I am fortunate to be part of a group that recognises this link and is committed to the principles of gender equality, the empowerment of women, access to quality health care and the right to accurate information on reproductive health.

The Australian PGPD is chaired by Senator Claire Moore. Previous chairs include Dr Mal Washer MP, Dr Sharman Stone MP and Mr Michael Johnston MP, and the inaugural chair was Dr Brendan Nelson MP. We have 41 federal members, coming from all political parties, and another 51 in the various state and territory parliaments. Our goal is to support and promote women’s human rights and empowerment in the Asia-Pacific region, in particular their social and reproductive rights. We are particularly concerned about the increasing rates of maternal death and illness related to childbirth and pregnancy. Across the world one woman dies every minute in childbirth or pregnancy related complications. It is our hope that through education and increasing public awareness women across the world, especially in developing nations, will begin to feel a sense of entitlement to the human rights that women in Australia take for granted. Every woman should have the right to a safe pregnancy and safe childbirth. Every woman should have the right to access affordable and effective contraception. Human rights are not up for negotiation. They are not something we earn or something that is limited to the wealthy and the fortunate.

Following the agreement made in Cairo, the year 2000 saw the launch of a further global consensus for international development. The Millennium Declaration and the subsequent Millennium Development Goals represented a variety of international objectives, including access to reproductive health and family planning. Unfortunately, it is this objective that has seen the least progress. Goal 5 is to improve maternal health and has a target to decrease the maternal death rate by 75 per cent. There is a long way to go before this target will be achieved. The program of action needs to be supported on a national level so that an adequate resource and monitoring system of the reproductive health budget can be put in place and used to assist in achieving this very important target. During this time of financial instability across the world, it is of the utmost importance that the Millennium Development Goals and the provision of aid towards fighting for human rights remains a priority.

In promoting issues of population and development, the PGPD plays a varied role. We issue questions on notice, take part in debates and participate in budget estimates. We engage individually and collectively in private and public discussions. We attend national, international and UN conferences on population, development and reproductive health. We network with other parliamentarians in Australia and the region who are also committed to women’s rights, particularly in developing countries. We meet when parliament sits and we hear a variety of speakers who inform our work. The PGPD is a keen supporter of the SPRINT initiative. SPRINT stands for Sexual and Reproductive Health Programme in Crisis and Post-Crisis Situations in East Asia, South-East Asia and the Pacific. SPRINT was launched by the PGPD at Parliament House, Canberra in February 2008. The three-year initiative is funded by AusAID and led by the International Planned Parenthood Federation in partnership with the University of New South Wales, UNFPA and the Australian Reproductive Health Alliance.

I am pleased to see the formation of a PGPD in Papua New Guinea. The meeting to formalise the PNG Parliamentary Group on Population and Development was held on 16 May at Loloata Island, just outside of Port Moresby. Fourteen parliamentarians attended. The group adopted a constitution and a workplan to take it to the end of 2009. The president, the Hon. Malakai Tabar MP, Member for Gazelle, said that teenage pregnancies, maternal death in childbirth and related complications and poverty were serious issues in his electorate and across the nation. Senator Claire Moore attended the meeting to explain the role and work of the Australian group and to interface with other groups in the region. Parliamentarians also heard from Professor Glen Mola, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at UPNG, about population and development issues facing the country and were briefed on the ICPD program of action and the Millennium Development Goals by UNFPA experts. The support of the Australian PGPD will be crucial to the group’s success. I commend all those who were involved in its establishment and look forward to working with them to improve the lives of those who are disadvantaged in our region. I recognise that there are many restrictions involved when dealing with abortion, sexual health and family planning. These are topics surrounded by endless moral discussion. I believe that failing to talk about and act on these issues is not an option.