Bob Brown (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate—

(a)

notes that:

(i)

the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria was established in 2002 to provide necessary funding for international programs to deal effectively with these diseases,

(ii)

HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria are diseases that affect proportionately more people who live in poverty, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region,

(iii)

more than 6 million people die from these diseases each year, and despite rapid increases in treatment, only one-fifth of people with HIV who need anti-retroviral treatment are receiving it,

(iv)

TB is a leading killer of people infected with HIV, however, with the proper treatment of TB, this can prolong the lives of people with HIV by years and at a very low cost,

(v)

the Global Fund has received $US6.7 billion since its inception but reports that significantly more is required in order to adequately combat HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria,

(vi)

Australia’s past contribution to the Global Fund totals $AUD55 million and in the 2007-08 Budget the Government indicated it would allocate a further $AUD45 million,

(vii)

by 2010, Australia’s fair share of support for the Global Fund is calculated by RESULTS Australia and other international non-government organisations to be $AUD220 million per year, and

(viii)

at the recently concluded G8 meeting, world leaders promised $US60 billion to fight HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria over the next few years, which includes a $US30 billion commitment from the United States of America to fight HIV/AIDS over a 5-year period;

(b)

urges the Australian Government to support the G8’s commitment to the fight against HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria by realising its fair share of funding for the Global Fund; and

(c)

urges the Australian Government to make a 4-year commitment to the Global Fund of $AUD640 million.

Question put.

Steve Fielding (Victoria, Family First Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—Family First, and I am sure the other parties, agree that, in principle, AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria account for huge numbers of deaths each year and that we should be doing more, and we should also be increasing funding. But to put a dollar value on it and a motion that is either ‘yes’ or ‘no’ is ridiculous. That explains Family First’s position.

Bob Brown (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—The very nature of that motion is its specificity, and the agreement globally made, which our country should be stepping up to, because it supported it, for the work required to turn around the scourge of these diseases. If Family First cannot get itself around that global agreement, then that is its responsibility. It should do its homework.