The Uniting Church has joined with the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID), calling on the Prime Minister to ensure next week’s Federal Budget does not break her promise on aid provision.
The council, the peak body for aid charities, has released an open letter (below) to the Prime Minister signed by more than 100 prominent Australians.
Signatories include 2012 Australian of the Year Geoffrey Rush, actors Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness, entertainers The Wiggles, Jimmy Barnes, Missy Higgins, Jamie Durie and Clare Bowditch, former Prime Minister the Rt Hon Malcolm Fraser AC CH, ACTU President Ged Kearney and former Masterchef winner Julie Goodwin.
Prominent business leaders have thrown their support behind the letter, including 2011 Australian of the Year Simon McKeon, Harold Mitchell AC, CEO of Yahoo7 Rohan Lund, Managing Director and CEO of Macquarie Bank Greg Ward, Executive Director of Telstra Rebekah O’Flaherty, Managing Director of KPI Consulting John Stewart and Group Executive for Qantas Lesley Grant.
The nation’s church leaders are also on board, with leaders from many denominations concerned about the effects of Australia backing away from our promise to the world’s poorest people.
“Most of the people living in poverty worldwide live in our own neighbourhood of Asia and the Pacific,” said Marc Purcell, Executive Director of ACFID. “So, as Australians, we know how important it is stay true to our longstanding commitments on aid,” he said.
Rev Tim Costello, CEO of World Vision Australia, said “The Prime Minister promised in the 2010 election to lift Australian aid to just 50 cents in every $100 of our national income, and this commitment cannot be broken for the sake of a surplus”.
“800,000 extra lives could be saved by Australia keeping this commitment, which is part of the international push to halve global poverty by 2015.”
Andrew Hewett, executive director of Oxfam Australia, said: “It is unacceptable that more than 20,000 children still die every single day due mostly to diseases that are entirely preventable.”
“It is in Australia’s national interest to ensure a prosperous, peaceful region and Australian aid can help achieve this,” he said.
Australian of the Year and UNICEF Ambassador Geoffrey Rush said, “We have made enormous progress in the battle against poverty. Australia must not cede the commitment to aid that is held across the political spectrum. To do so will jeopardise the futures of millions of people who have been given the opportunity to lift themselves out of poverty, in no small part, thanks to Australia’s foreign aid”.
CEO of Care Australia, Dr Julia Newton-Howes, said that Australia could afford to spend more on aid. “We are one of the wealthiest nations in the world,” she said, “but right now we rank only 13th on the league table of OECD nations on aid giving.”
Ian Wishart, CEO of Plan International Australia, said that children and families in our neighbourhood were counting on Australia keeping its promise.
“Many millions of men, women and children in some of our closest neighbouring countries owe their lives, their ability to attend school and the safe birth of their children to Australian aid,” he said.
Australians are waiting for the Prime Minister to show the world that when we make a promise, we keep it.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
For Marc Purcell Joy Kyriacou 0412 084 782
For Rev. Tim Costello Martin Thomas 0400 454 695
For Andrew Hewett Chee Chee Leung 0400 732 795
For Dr Julia Newton-Howes Laura Hill 0419 567 777
For Ian Wishart David Cook 0448 816 900
Open Letter
Dear Prime Minister,
In the year 2000, Australia agreed to play its part in global efforts to halve the number of people living in poverty by 2015. Australians can be proud that, so far, their leaders have kept this promise made in our name.
John Howard promised to double Australian aid in 2005. And the Gillard Government has promised to further lift the levels of Australian aid to 0.5 per cent of our national income by 2015.
This commitment has been supported by both sides of politics, as it should be. This is Australia’s promise to the world’s poor, no matter who is in Government.
Millions of Australians, young and old, expect this commitment to be maintained. And millions more of those living in poverty are depending on it.
This is a question of whether Australia can be trusted to do what it says it will do.
Reaching the 0.5 per cent target means just 50 cents in every $100 of our national income will go towards our aid program. This falls short of the global target of 0.7 per cent, but it still means a lot to the world’s poor.
Keeping this promise on aid could save the lives of at least 800,000 extra people over the next four years.
Around the world more than 20,000 children still die each day because of diseases that can be easily prevented and treated like diarrhoea, pneumonia and malaria.
Millions of people live on less than $2 a day in our neighbouring countries like Timor Leste, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.
The money the Government has promised to spend on aid is desperately needed.
Australian aid levels are not generous by world standards – currently we are below the average when compared to what other rich nations give. We rank 13th on the league table of 23 rich countries that give aid. But what we do give makes a big difference.
Prime Minister, we hear this will be a tough budget and reports say that aid spending is on the hit list. But we cannot balance the books with the lives of the world’s poor.
We the undersigned, and the more than 2 million Australian households who generously support aid organisations each year, urge you to keep the promise to increase aid to 0.5 per cent by 2015-16.
It is up to you to prove that when Australia makes a promise, we keep it.
Signed:
Geoffrey Rush
Actor, 2012 Australian of the Year & UNICEF Ambassador
Hugh Jackman
Actor & World Vision Ambassador
Deborra-Lee Furness
Actress & World Vision Ambassador
Jimmy Barnes
Musician & UNICEF Ambassador
Missy Higgins
Singer-songwriter & Oxfam supporter
Clare Bowditch
Singer-songwriter & Oxfam supporter
John Doyle (Roy)
Entertainer & UNICEF Ambassador
Tara Moss
Author & UNICEF Ambassador
Rt Hon. Malcolm Fraser AC CH
Former Australian Prime Minister
Harold Mitchell AC
Chair, Care Australia
Katie Noonan
Singer-songwriter & Oxfam supporter
Jamie Durie
Entertainer & Plan International Ambassador
The Hon Kristina Keneally MP
Ambassador, Opportunity International Australia
Julie Goodwin
Former Masterchef Winner & Oxfam supporter
Rodney Cox
Victorian Australian of the Year, Fellow for Public Leadership at Harvard University
Professor Adam Shoemaker
Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Education), Monash University
Gabi Hollows
The Fred Hollows Foundation
The Hon John Dowd AO QC
President, ActionAid Australia
Murray Cook
The Wiggles & UNICEF Ambassador
Anthony Field
The Wiggles & UNICEF Ambassador
Jeff Fatt
The Wiggles & UNICEF Ambassador
Greg Page
The Wiggles & UNICEF Ambassador
John Butler
Singer-songwriter & Oxfam supporter
The Hon Dr Meredith Burgmann
President, Australian Council for International Development
Simon McKeon
2011 Australian of the Year, Businessman and Australian Chairman, Global Poverty Project Inc
Rohan Lund
CEO, Yahoo7
Ged Kearney
President, ACTU
Greg Ward
Managing Director and CEO, Macquarie Bank
Rebekah O’Flaherty
Executive Director, Telstra
Lesley Grant
Group Executive, Qantas
Christine Christian
Past CEO Dun and Bradstreet
John Stewart
Managing Director, KPI Consulting
Belinda Rowe
Managing Partner, ZenithOptimedia
Fiona Sinclair-King
Barrister at Law
Michael Gill
Counsellor, Dragoman
Michael Batchelor
Consultant, Deloitte
Deeta Colvin
Consultant, CPH
Most Reverend Mark Coleridge Archbishop Designate of Brisbane
Most Reverend Philip Wilson Archbishop of Adelaide
Most Reverend Adrian Doyle Archbishop of Hobart
The Very Reverend Dr Peter Catt Dean, St John’s Cathedral, Brisbane.
The Right Rev John Harrower OAM Bishop of Tasmania
Bishop Philip Huggins
Anglican Diocese of Melbourne
Rev Shayne Blackman
National Administrator, Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress
Rev Alistair Macrae
President, National Assembly, Uniting Church in Australia
Mr Stuart McMillan
Moderator, Northern Synod, Uniting Church in Australia
Rev Dr Brian Brown
Moderator, Synod of NSW/ACT, Uniting Church in Australia
Rev Kaye Ronalds
Moderator, Synod of Queensland, Uniting Church in Australia
Rev Rob Williams
Moderator, Synod of South Australia, Uniting Church in Australia
Isabel Thomas Dobson
Moderator, Synod of Victoria & Tasmania, Uniting Church in Australia Signed:
Rev Ron Larkin
Moderator, Synod of Western Australia, Uniting Church in Australia
Rev Tim Costello
CEO, World Vision Australia
Andrew Hewett
Executive Director, Oxfam Australia
Norman Gillespie
CEO, UNICEF Australia
Jack de Groot
CEO, Caritas Australia
Dr Julia Newton-Howes
CEO, Care Australia
Ian Wishart
CEO, Plan International Australia
Dimity Fifer
CEO, Australian Volunteers International
Misha Coleman
CEO, Anglicord: Anglican Overseas Aid
Nigel Spence
CEO, ChildFund Australia
Adam Laidlaw
CEO, WaterAid Australia
Jackie Perkins
Executive Administrator, Quaker Service Australia
Marc Purcell
Executive Director, Australian Council for International Development
Archie Law
Executive Director, ActionAid Australia
Rev Dr Kerry Enright
National Director, UnitingWorld
Malcolm Gledhill
Chairperson, Relief & Development, UnitingWorld
Bill Whittaker AM
National Association of People Living with HIV/AIDS (NAPWA)
Maria Deveson Crabbe
CEO, Marie Stopes International Australia
Glenyce Johnson
Chair, Marie Stopes International Australia
Bill Bowtell AO
Executive Director, Pacific Friends of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
Wendy McCarthy AO
Chair, Pacific Friends of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
Brian Doolan
CEO, The Fred Hollows Foundation
Paul Power
CEO, Refugee Council of Australia
Suzanne Dvorak
CEO, Save the Children Australia
Alistair Gee
Executive Director, Act for Peace – National Council of Churches Australia
Chris Sadler
Chairman, Opportunity International Australia
Dermot O’Gorman
CEO, World Wildlife Fund Australia
Joanna Hayter
CEO, International Women’s Development Agency
Geoffrey Armstrong
Executive Director, Global Development Group
Mary Hawkins
President, International Women’s Development Agency
Michael Ahrens
CEO, Transparency International Australia
Christine Franks
Chair, Habitat for Humanity Australia
Jo Brennan
CEO, Habitat for Humanity Australia
Michael Rose
Chairman, ChildFund Alliance
Mohamed Mayat
Country Director, Islamic Relief Australia
John Jeffries
National Director, CBM Australia
Matthew Maury
National Director, TEAR Australia
David Pearson
Chairman, Global Development Group
Greg Thompson
Executive Director International, Transparency International
Mick Turnbull
Chair, Baptist World Aid Australia
John Hickey
CEO, Baptist World Aid Australia
Peter Jennings
Executive Officer, Union Aid Abroad–APHEDA
Professor Dennis Altman AM FASSA
Director, Institute of Human Security La Trobe University
Dr. Michael Henry
Chair of Oxfam Australia
Michael Lynch
CEO, Australian Business Volunteers
Cam Walker
CEO, Friends of the Earth (Australia)
Dr Jim Green
Chair, Friends of the Earth (Australia)
Christian Nielsen
Trustee Australia and Executive Director, Live & Learn Environmental Education
Brother Paul Smith
CEO, Lasallian Foundation
Signed:
Dr. Paul Meyer
Chair, Australian Lutheran World Service (ALWS)
Peter Schirmer
Executive Secretary, Australian Lutheran World Service (ALWS)
The Venerable Alison Taylor Archdeacon of Kew, Chair of the Board, Anglicord: Anglican Overseas Aid
Major John Rees
Director, The Salvation Army NSW
Major Graeme McClimont
Divisional Commander, The Salvation Army, Tasmania
Alan McLean
CEO, RedR Australia
Elizabeth Taylor
Chair, RedR Australia
Frank Tyler
Director, Australian Aid International
Marc Preston
Director, Australian Aid International
Guy Winship
CEO, World Education Australia Limited
Kay de Vogel
Convenor, Quaker Service Australia, Management Committee
Mark Cubit
Trustee, Planet Wheeler Foundation and Cubit Family Foundation
Prof. Brien A. Holden PhD, DSc, OAM
CEO, International Centre for Eyecare Education
Prof. Gullapalli N Rao, MD, FRCS, FACS, D.Sc, D. Med
Chairman, International Centre for Eyecare Education
Professor Iven Young
Senior Staff Specialist, Respiratory Medicine, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Chair, Physicians Training Council, CETI
Ailsa Mackinnon RSM
Executive Director, Mercy Works Ltd.
Clary Castrission
President, 40K Foundation Australia
Robert Dunn
CEO, Opportunity International Australia
Naomi Steer
National Director, Australia for UNHCR
Eric Leach
CEO, Every Home Global Concern
Robert McConaghy
Chairman, Every Home Global Concern
Graham Peck
CEO, The Leprosy Mission Australia
Pam Packett
Chair, The Leprosy Mission Australia
Peter Hunt
Chair, Grameen Foundation Australia
Rev John Deane
Executive Director, Anglican Board of Mission – Australia
John Rock
Chairman, Australian Foundation for the Peoples of Asia and the Pacific (AFAP)
Dr. P. Ketheswaran, MBBS, FRANCR
President and Chairman, Australian Medical Aid Foundation Ltd
Anne Skipper AM
Chair, Plan International Australia
Dr Satish Nagarajah, MBBS, FRACP
Secretary, Australian Medical Aid Foundation Ltd
Garry Weare
Executive Director, Australian Himalayan Foundation
Catherine Burke
CEO, The Hunger Project Australia
Diane Grady
Chairperson, The Hunger Project Australia
Dr Colin Barlow
CEO, Nusa Tenggara Association
Graham Morrison
Chairman, Chairman, International Nepal Fellowship (Aust) Ltd
Duncan Power
CEO, Grameen Foundation Australia
Kerrie Shaw
Executive Officer, Australian Respiratory Council
Lizzie Brown
CEO, Engineers Without Borders Australia
Phil Clarke
Chair, Engineers Without Borders Australia
Margot Sweeny
Chair, Credit Union Foundation Australia
Peter Mason
Executive Officer, Credit Union Foundation Australia
David Chesterman AM FRAIA FPIA
Chairman, Emergency Architects Australia
Levinia Crooks
CEO, Australasian Society for HIV Medicine
Edwina Wright
President, Australasian Society for HIV Medicine
Dr Joanne Ramadge
CEO, Sexual Health & Family Planning Australia
Glen Arundell
President, Project Vietnam
Delene Evans
General Manager, Australian Doctors International
Signed:
Tom O’Connor
CEO, The Oaktree Foundation
Dr Tim Hanna
CEO, Compassion Australia
Rev John Smith
Team Leader, Mission Leadership Team, Tasmanian Baptist Churches
Philip Morris
CEO, International Nepal Fellowship (Aust) Ltd
David Hayes
Chief Executive Officer, Assisi Aid Projects
Neil McIntosh
Chair, World Education Australia Limited
Ps. Graham Clarke
Senior Pastor, Barrabool Hills Baptist Church