Anne McEwen (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Earlier today, the Senate agreed to a condolence motion in respect of the late Hon. Gordon Neil Bilney. Gordon Bilney was the member for Kingston, in South Australia, from 1983 until 1996 and he was a fine representative of his state, as was attested to in the speeches today. He was also the Minister for Defence Science and Personnel from 1990 to 1993 and the Minister for Development Co-operation and Pacific Island Affairs from 1993 to 1996 in the Keating government. Prime Minister Keating was the first to create a ministry specifically dedicated to Australia's engagement with our Pacific neighbours, and Gordon Bilney was an admirable first occupant of that ministry. The combination of his Foreign Affairs background, his compassion and his commitment to the Labor principles of equality and equal opportunity ensured his success in that portfolio and ensured that Australia was very well regarded in the regions near to us.

Australia's current Labor government continue the Labor tradition of supporting our Pacific neighbours through application of overseas development aid. We are still committed to the principles of equality and equal opportunity. These are also the principles that underpin the Millennium Development Goals to which the member nations of the United Nations are all committed. We wish we were making better process in the achievement of the MDGs, but we continue to support them because we know that overall that is the focus we should be taking.

At a time when gender inequality is, appropriately, very much in the public debate here in Australia, it is worth reminding ourselves how gender inequality is writ large in other countries in our region. Women in the developing nations of the Pacific area suffer the effects of gender discrimination. They experience disproportionate levels of sexual and physical abuse, and some 60 per cent of women experience domestic violence. They are more likely than men to be illiterate and less likely to be in paid employment. Women-led households are poorer than those with a male present. Tragically, women in developing countries suffer poorer health outcomes and are 25 times more likely to die from pregnancy related causes than their sisters in developed countries.

In reflecting on the contribution that Gordon Bilney made to Australia's engagement with our Pacific neighbours, I was reminded that he was always a strong advocate for the right of women to access sexual and reproductive health services. He understood that a woman's control of when she had children was important not just to her family but to her economic and social wellbeing. He was proud that Australia supported the provision of overseas development aid for sexual and reproductive health programs in the Pacific region.

On 10 July 1993, Gordon Bilney issued a media statement which was headed 'Access to family planning is a fundamental human right'. He said:

"Australia's support for population programs is based on a firm commitment to the basic right of individuals to decide freely the number and spacing of their children.

"Through our support for the United Nations Population Fund and the International Planned Parenthood Federation, Australia helps promote informed choice and better services for the millions of people who do not currently enjoy this basic right.

He went on to say:

"We're … stepping up our direct support to family planning in our region, for example with support for a major population and planning project in Papua New Guinea which includes training for health workers, technical assistance and support for non government organisations.

"Access to family planning services benefits the health and survival of women and children. Early, frequent and prolonged childbearing is directly linked with poor health and continuing high infant and maternal mortality.

It is salient to reflect, almost 20 years later, that access for women to adequate sexual and reproductive health services is still one of the issues that overseas development aid grapples with, but I am pleased that Australia is still committed to providing those services, particularly to our neighbours in Papua New Guinea and other countries in our region.

I note with some pride that Australia's commitment to our developing neighbours in our region continues. I was particularly pleased earlier in the year, in September, when the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, announced a $320 million initiative to assist Pacific island countries to support women into decision-making roles and to promote gender equality. The Pacific Women Shaping Pacific Development initiative commences next year, and over the next 10 years it will assist in the provision of mentoring and training to female candidates and members of parliament to help women influence national and local politics and to run for office. It will assist in making markets safer places for women to work in and provide business training and better access to financial assistance for female vendors. That will support some 30,000 women who sell goods in markets. It will also help Pacific women to feel safer in the community by expanding services for victims of domestic violence. Funding will go towards health services, crisis centres and shelters, particularly in rural areas. Those are noble and wonderful objectives, and I am sure we all look forward to seeing that program rolled out to support women, in particular in the developing nations in the Pacific region.

I will just conclude on the issue of representation of women on decision-making bodies, particularly at local, regional and national levels, in the developing nations in our region. This is one of the most important things that we can do to support women. We need to have more women in positions of decision making in those areas. We know that women are woefully, woefully underrepresented.

I acknowledge and congratulate the three female representatives who have been elected in Papua New Guinea in the 2012 elections. I can only imagine how difficult it was for them to campaign there, let alone to actually win and successfully take their seats. It is truly heartening, and it is a testament to the support of many, many people who got those women into those places.

I also acknowledge the fine work of the Centre for Democratic Institutions, which is supported by AusAID and which equips female candidates with the skills they need in campaigning, including things like the management of finances, organising a support team, public speaking and the rules of elections. I know that a mentoring program is being set up in this parliament to assist not just those women who have been elected to the Papua New Guinea parliament but all women candidates in the developing nations in our region. I know that many, many women in this chamber are looking forward to supporting women in our region to put their hand up for political office. We will be there supporting them through their campaigns and supporting them after they are elected. That indeed is a great thing. We know that, once we have women in positions of power, they will be able to assist other women to also put their hand up to take responsibility for power and to support themselves to address the insidious problem of gender inequality that continues in our region.