Linda White (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I want to speak about the important work of Union Aid Abroad APHEDA in supporting economic development in the Asia-Pacific. APHEDA was established in 1984 through the work of a young Australian nurse named Helen McHugh, a committed member of the Australian Nursing Federation, after she'd been working as a nurse educator with the World Health Organization in refugee camps in the Middle East.

I recently met with APHEDA's Executive Director, Kate Lee, and Lachlan Batchelor to hear about the important work Union Aid Abroad APHEDA does in the Asia-Pacific region. APHEDA's international program is about building solidarity and self-reliance for workers and their communities. Working with the International Trade Union Confederation, APHEDA supports energy transition programs in India, Indonesia, the Philippines and Nepal, and supports gender equality in Cambodia. Inequality in our region is at record highs. Inequality weakens communities, societies and institutions. It makes government work less efficiently. It costs more to do less.

Workers in our region experience subsistence wages, long working hours, poor conditions and hostile governments; there are also threats to the lives of union activists and their families. Trade unions are the backbone of communities in unequal societies.

The government has made the Asia-Pacific region the top foreign relations priority after a decade of neglect by those opposite. This government has been leading the charge to fix the damage done by those opposite, which has left us on the back foot in our own neighbourhood. For a few cents each we can immeasurably improve the lives of our Asia-Pacific neighbours and, at the same time, strengthen security in our region. They deserve our support and I commend the work of APHEDA to the Senate.