Gay marriage, climate change, asylum seekers: the media covered the Labor Party National Conference this weekend with a heady mix of personalities and policy.
But what about Australian Aid?
Australians like to see ourselves as punching above our weight on the global stage. My fellow Australians and I see ourselves as generous and reliable, there when disaster strikes and ready to help to save the day. But as a nation, are Australians really global superheros? Are we even doing our fair share? Are we acting as global citizens?
$11.3 billion AUD has been ripped out of our aid program since 2013. This year, $1 billion AUD or 20 per cent, of the Australian Aid budget was cut. This reduction is unprecedented in Australian history. This has devastating effects on real people with limited access to clean water, vaccinations, and education, people being denied an opportunity to thrive.
These cuts have damaged Australia’s standing as a generous country with a powerful legacy of making change for the world’s poor.
The 2015 National Conference provided Australians a glimpse of what to expect if Labor wins the 2016 Federal election. And with the keys to ‘the Lodge’ Labour would – according to their platform - set the agenda for Australian Aid and seemingly increase our standing in the world as a global citizen.
What is the National Conference and why should I care?
"Conference" is the biggest political pow-wow in the country. Hundreds of Labor members get together to thrash out the policies it will take to the next election. If you want to know what the party stands for, go to the Platform –from health to education, industry to agriculture, the platform guides MPs and the party as a whole on the policy and direction in the lead up to the next election. The Labor Party’s commitment to growing Australian Aid however, while encouraging, does not provide a clear goal of reaching the 0.7% Gross National Income (GNI) commitment to Official Development Assistance (ODA) pushed by the United Nations (UN).
Why is 0.7% GNI target so important to fighting extreme poverty?
The target was first pledged over 35 years ago at the UN General Assembly as the standard for all developed countries to reach if we wanted to see an end to extreme poverty. Some of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) have been successful as they had clear, succinct targets and measurable outcomes. They were also successful because some developed countries have stepped up to the goals of reaching 0.7% GNI. If every rich country did this and committed 0.7% of its GNI to Aid, the UN Millennium Project estimated that every one of the MDGs could have been reached. As we know, we are not there yet and have a long way to go.
Australia not reaching the 0.7% GNI target is a missed opportunity. Now with the Sustainable Development Goals set to be agreed upon in September at the UN, the follow on from the MDGs, this is a prime time for Australia to demonstrate leadership, commit to 0.7% of GNI and play a bigger role in eradicating extreme poverty and inequality around the globe by 2030.
Sometimes ‘Silence is Golden’
While the Platform and resolutions are silent on 0.7% GNI, it does say for the Labor Party to:
“Acknowledge the long-standing internationally agreed aid targets for official development assistance and calls on a future Federal Labor Government to work towards Australia contributing its fair share to international development”.
This provides global citizens with a golden opportunity to push for 0.7% GNI to be adopted by our country’s alternative government. We must hold Labor MPs accountable to what the national conference agreed to. Words don’t mean anything without follow through.
The stakes couldn’t be higher:
- The eradication of the scourge of extreme poverty and inequality in our lifetime and;
- The cementing of Australia’s rightful place as a global citizen that does its fair share for the world’s poor.
Let’s not forget that since 1990 extreme poverty around the world has been halved. We know that aid is a part of that success story.
Watch this space on actions for each and every one of us to do before the next Federal election. The stakes couldn’t be higher, if we are truly global citizens we must act and our political parties must lead the way.
This article was written by Linda Goncalves.
Linda Goncalves is a Content Contributor at Global Citizen. She believes social justice can happen one conversation at a time. Mixing union, political, and community activism, she likes nothing better than discussing the big issues with a local focus. Living in Perth, Australia she has a soft spot for live music, her niece and nephews, and Australia’s world famous beaches.