Gary Humphries (ACT, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Materiel) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to talk about the phenomenon of Australia's contri­bution to international aid efforts and to talk particularly about aid with respect to assisting those with disabilities living in developing countries. The idea that those who have wealth should share that wealth with other people is an important part of the Judaeo-Christian culture that Australia has inherited. Sharing is essential to maintain and protect the collective sense of wellbeing and empathy is an essential value of what it is to be human. International aid is the instru­ment by which this very human practice occurs between different societies. The humanitarian justification is strongly tied to redressing the moral indignation associated with poverty in a world of immense potential and astounding wealth.

Aid can save lives and reduce suffering not just in the short term but in the long term. Debilitating diseases such as smallpox, tuberculosis, river blindness or leprosy have been controlled largely thanks to targeted development aid efforts. Food aid is at the root of the international aid system, although today it represents a relatively small pro­portion of total aid—only something like three to five per cent. Thanks to international emergency response, famines and other natural and human-made disasters no longer kill in the numbers they used to prior to the 1980s.

The distribution of aid not only helps to improve the lives of millions and to build goodwill; it also holds many benefits for Australia as a nation. Aid can improve regional security and can help our partner governments to improve law and order, and prevent disorder that can lead to the breakdown of social institutions. Australian aid helps manage threats such as people trafficking, illicit drugs, HIV-AIDS and diseases. Australia's economic and security interests are better protected through the creation of stronger communities and economies, and more stable governments.

Australian aid has been particularly effective in a number of ways in our region. It has helped wipe out polio in the Pacific region and it has seen more than 1½ million children immunised against measles and polio in Papua New Guinea. In other countries around the world, Australian aid plays a critical role in supporting both the stability and the legitimacy of national governments, as well as the viability of democratic nations. Of course, our aid should never be just about providing money; it should be and it is indeed about transferring skills, catalysing reform and leveraging the resources of countries to maximise development potential. It is also important to be realistic about what we can achieve with our aid.

Aid does not happen merely because we respond to that Judaeo-Christian impulse to extend help to those around us. It also is a reflection of values by Australians who lobby governments for particular outcomes. I doubt that any member of this chamber would be unaware—and I know you are not unaware, Acting Deputy President Moore—of the contribution to this debate made by organisations such as the Micah Challenge, a global Christian movement which has been working towards the fulfilment of the Millennium Development Goals, MDGs, and ultimately aims to achieve the ambitious but not unachievable goal of halving global poverty by 2015.

The Millennium Development Goals provide a concrete and numerical benchmark for tackling poverty in many dimensions. The eight main goals I am sure are familiar to many members of this place. They are: the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger; the achievement of universal primary educ­ation; the empowerment of women and the promotion of gender equality; the reduction of child mortality; the improvement of maternal health; the reduction in prevalence of disease, especially HIV-AIDS and malaria; the promotion of environmental sustainability; and the formulation of a global partnership for development. As I said, the aim by 2015 is to halve the number of people who live in poverty, specifically those who live on less than $1 a day. The millennium development plan endeavours to end hunger, malnutrition and disease through the promotion of equal educational oppor­tunities, sustainable development and gender equality.

The progress that has been made against those goals is insignificant. A decade after the Millennium Declaration, we can point to undeniable progress on many fronts in many countries. There have been notable reductions in poverty globally, significant improvements in enrolment and gender parity in schools, reductions in child and maternal mortality and increasing HIV treatments. Steps have been taken towards improving environmental sustainability and developing countries are incorporating the MDGs into their development strategies. Of course that progress is threatened at the present time by things like high food prices and the impact of international financial and economic crises. The changes to the environ­ment, particularly shocks from climate, are important factors to also consider when looking at the production of food by many countries. Many countries are still racked by conflict and even in a post-conflict phase institutions are still weak in protecting individuals as they seek to make headway against poverty. However, setbacks like these should serve to remind us of how far we have actually come and how much closer the Millennium Development Goals are in many respects. I commend those goals again to members of this place and remind them that it is important for Australia to be part of the international process whereby we achieve those goals.

I had the good fortune yesterday to be part of the opening of the 'End the cycle' photographic exhibition at the High Court of Australia, where I joined with Richard Marles, the Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Island Affairs, in opening the exhi­bition. It is an exhibition in pictures and words of the experience of people who are living in poverty with disabilities. Poverty and disability are inherently linked. As many as 50 per cent of disabilities are preventable and of course occur at a higher rate in countries where poverty is endemic and where assistance and treatment is less accessible. Disability can deepen poverty through institutional and social barriers and discrimination. Lack of access to education, health, employment services and other opportunities for social mobility means people with disabilities are among the poorest of the poor. They are subject to social and cultural stigma, resulting in them being hidden from view by their families and communities. They are the world's most marginalised people. They also suffer from other serious stigma relating to social and cultural factors. For example, in Senegal many communities consider disability to be a supernatural curse, and there have been high rates of infanticide of mentally and physically impaired babies because of the perception that these people carry some kind of curse.

I am pleased to say that the development programs of Australia and a number of other countries are focusing on this phenomenon of disability and poverty and are attempting to use programs to aid communities to address this issue. It is an important part of Australia's aid program that we address inequality. It is avoidable with attitudes that acknowledge that disability need not mean giving up the capacity to participate in a society.

A World Bank study estimated that the loss of GDP globally due to people with disabilities and their family members being excluded from income-generating activities was between US$1.7 trillion and US$2.2 trillion annually. That is between 5.35 per cent and 6.97 per cent of total world GDP. So clearly it is in our collective interests to empower people with disabilities to be part of the economy and part of their society. I commend Australia's attempts to ensure that that is part of the process when we roll out aid from Australia.

Again I commend the Millennium Devel­opment Goals to members. I hope that we will renew our commitments to ensuring that Australian aid helps achieve the powerful and important goal of, by 2015, halving the number of people in this world who live on less than $1 a day.