Australia should do more about poverty
We've become a laggard in fighting world poverty
By Tim Costello
December 13, 2006
Thousands of people flocked to the Make Poverty History concert last month and hundreds of thousands watched the event in other venues across the country.
Collectively they were raising their voices to demand that Australia does more - its fair share - in striking a death blow to global poverty in our world, a grinding poverty that kills 30,000 children a day.
Today there is now emerging the first sign that their voices are being heard.
Recently, new deputy Labor leader Julia Gillard (Opinion, 1/12) said the Australian Government could and should have done more to put poverty on the agenda at the G20 summit in Melbourne.
Her leader, Kevin Rudd, has spoken about the moral obligations his Christian faith demands of him - that power should be used to protect the poor and the vulnerable at home and abroad. Yet before Rudd's ascension to leader, Labor had yet to commit to concrete efforts to tackle global poverty. The challenge now presents itself to the new Labor leadership team. It is an issue I plan to press with Rudd and Gillard in a meeting.
There is also evidence that the hundreds of thousands of people across the nation that have joined the Make Poverty History campaign are also being heard by the Coalition.
Many Coalition MPs I have spoken to have expressed their desire that Australia do more to tackle global poverty, specially when we have delivered a string of budget surpluses.
As Bono wrapped up his Australian tour he spoke to me about his bewilderment at the two Australias he had encountered. There was the new Australia: proud Australians who told him they want their country to be a leader, not a laggard in facing the great challenges of the age such as global poverty. These were the soccer mums, the kids who went to his concerts, student activists, church and development groups.
Yet he also saw an Australia that was no longer taking a leading role on these issues. Leadership on both sides of the political divide that was following rather than leading on issues such as poverty and climate change.
It is a contrast that is genuinely bewildering. Even more confusing is trying to understand the logic of those arguing against any move by Australia to boost aid and offer debt relief to the world's poorest nations.
It is argued that trade is the panacea for the poor and not aid. Even leaving aside the fact that the Doha round of the world trade talks appears to be terminally stalled, the argument is a false one. Make Poverty History is not arguing against trade but it argues for it to be effective. For the poor it must be accompanied by aid that builds bridges, roads and ports to provide market access.
We've seen in countries such as India and China that even with exceptional economic growth often the poorest do not benefit. In India, despite 11 years of stunning growth, the World Bank estimates that some 47 per cent of children are malnourished and 20 per cent still don't get to go to school.
Back in 1970 Australia and other developed countries first agreed to provide 0.7 per cent of their gross national income as aid. Today 16 of the 22 countries have now committed to reach 0.7 per cent by 2015. Australia's level of aid is 0.3 per cent now and there is still no timetable to take it to 0.5 by 2010 or 0.7 per cent by 2015.
Our contribution to the Global Fund to fight tuberculosis, malaria and AIDS is at $18 million - our fair contribution would be $60 million. Even President George Bush had taken the United States' commitment to the fund from millions to billions.
Other world leaders such as Britain's Tony Blair understand the importance of overseas aid and that you cannot win a war on terror or climate change without winning the war on poverty. As a result, he ensured that the 2005 G8 summit in Gleneagles had global poverty and the plight of Africa firmly at the top of the agenda.
With the federal election due next year, there is still hope that Australia can become smarter in its policies on poverty.
The Make Poverty History five-point plan calls for leaders to ensure the quality and volume of aid is improved, debt relief is given to those countries struggling to halve their poverty levels by 2015, trade talks are revived, greenhouse pollution is cut and corruption is tackled on our own shores as well as in developing countries.
There is no magic bullet to fighting poverty. It is only through tackling all five areas that we will make inroads.
Tim Costello is chief executive of World Vision Australia.
To read the original article from The Age, click on:
The Age
By Tim Costello
December 13, 2006
Thousands of people flocked to the Make Poverty History concert last month and hundreds of thousands watched the event in other venues across the country.
Collectively they were raising their voices to demand that Australia does more - its fair share - in striking a death blow to global poverty in our world, a grinding poverty that kills 30,000 children a day.
Today there is now emerging the first sign that their voices are being heard.
Recently, new deputy Labor leader Julia Gillard (Opinion, 1/12) said the Australian Government could and should have done more to put poverty on the agenda at the G20 summit in Melbourne.
Her leader, Kevin Rudd, has spoken about the moral obligations his Christian faith demands of him - that power should be used to protect the poor and the vulnerable at home and abroad. Yet before Rudd's ascension to leader, Labor had yet to commit to concrete efforts to tackle global poverty. The challenge now presents itself to the new Labor leadership team. It is an issue I plan to press with Rudd and Gillard in a meeting.
There is also evidence that the hundreds of thousands of people across the nation that have joined the Make Poverty History campaign are also being heard by the Coalition.
Many Coalition MPs I have spoken to have expressed their desire that Australia do more to tackle global poverty, specially when we have delivered a string of budget surpluses.
As Bono wrapped up his Australian tour he spoke to me about his bewilderment at the two Australias he had encountered. There was the new Australia: proud Australians who told him they want their country to be a leader, not a laggard in facing the great challenges of the age such as global poverty. These were the soccer mums, the kids who went to his concerts, student activists, church and development groups.
Yet he also saw an Australia that was no longer taking a leading role on these issues. Leadership on both sides of the political divide that was following rather than leading on issues such as poverty and climate change.
It is a contrast that is genuinely bewildering. Even more confusing is trying to understand the logic of those arguing against any move by Australia to boost aid and offer debt relief to the world's poorest nations.
It is argued that trade is the panacea for the poor and not aid. Even leaving aside the fact that the Doha round of the world trade talks appears to be terminally stalled, the argument is a false one. Make Poverty History is not arguing against trade but it argues for it to be effective. For the poor it must be accompanied by aid that builds bridges, roads and ports to provide market access.
We've seen in countries such as India and China that even with exceptional economic growth often the poorest do not benefit. In India, despite 11 years of stunning growth, the World Bank estimates that some 47 per cent of children are malnourished and 20 per cent still don't get to go to school.
Back in 1970 Australia and other developed countries first agreed to provide 0.7 per cent of their gross national income as aid. Today 16 of the 22 countries have now committed to reach 0.7 per cent by 2015. Australia's level of aid is 0.3 per cent now and there is still no timetable to take it to 0.5 by 2010 or 0.7 per cent by 2015.
Our contribution to the Global Fund to fight tuberculosis, malaria and AIDS is at $18 million - our fair contribution would be $60 million. Even President George Bush had taken the United States' commitment to the fund from millions to billions.
Other world leaders such as Britain's Tony Blair understand the importance of overseas aid and that you cannot win a war on terror or climate change without winning the war on poverty. As a result, he ensured that the 2005 G8 summit in Gleneagles had global poverty and the plight of Africa firmly at the top of the agenda.
With the federal election due next year, there is still hope that Australia can become smarter in its policies on poverty.
The Make Poverty History five-point plan calls for leaders to ensure the quality and volume of aid is improved, debt relief is given to those countries struggling to halve their poverty levels by 2015, trade talks are revived, greenhouse pollution is cut and corruption is tackled on our own shores as well as in developing countries.
There is no magic bullet to fighting poverty. It is only through tackling all five areas that we will make inroads.
Tim Costello is chief executive of World Vision Australia.
To read the original article from The Age, click on:
The Age
posted by Pax Christi @ Thursday, December 14, 2006
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