Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak in support of the Asian Development Bank (Additional Subscription) Bill 2009. This bill fulfils our commitment made in the 2 April 2009 communique from G20 London summit, in the ‘Strengthening our global financial institutions’ passage:

• we support a substantial increase in lending of at least $100 billion by the Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs), including to low income countries, and ensure that all MDBs have the appropriate capital.

This bill is about ensuring flexibility and ensuring effective assistance as a good neighbour in our region.

There are three pillars of the Australian Labor Party’s foreign policy. The first is our engagement in the Asia-Pacific area and being a regional power in that area, with our commitment to peace, order and good governance and our commitment to aid, which is so ably given through AusAID in places like Indonesia and the South Pacific. Second is our involvement in the United Nations, in multilateral assistance to so many countries through the WHO, UNESCO, UNICEF and other organisations and in our participation as a medium-sized power on issues of law and order, justice, the relief of poverty and assistance for those suffering from ill health. The third pillar of our foreign policy is our alliance with the United States. The United States is simply the superpower of the 21st century, as it was of the 20th century, when it emerged from the world wars as our great and powerful friend.

This bill involves cooperation with other great and powerful friends as well as the United States of America. The advanced economies have a real responsibility to assist those less fortunate in our region. If you travel through South-East Asia or the South Pacific, you will see at times great evidence of middle-class prosperity and development. Political leaders in rural areas in South-East Asia speak with a great deal of pride and honour about the work they are doing in terms of development. But far too often when you travel along freeways and highways in South-East Asia you will see evidence of terrible poverty—grinding, awful, degrading poverty—and children being, sadly, at home in the company of their families at times when they should be in educational institutions.

Australia has played a significant role in South-East Asia not only tackling the challenges of people smuggling, law enforcement and turning boats back but also assisting in places like Indonesia, such as in rural Kalimantan where we are assisting in the peatlands, tackling the challenges of climate change, trying to assist in the saving of orangutans and also building schools in places where there are no schools. We are involved in assistance in Asia through the Asian Development Bank and this bill is extremely important if we say we are going to be a good neighbour.

The Asian Development Bank has been around since the mid-sixties and its first focus was, quite typically, on the Third World regions of Asia. The focus on agriculture changed through rural development and technical assistance into an emphasis on education, health and infrastructure. Later the focus was on regional cooperation, the relief of poverty and ensuring not just development but sustainable development and better health care for so many of its members. It has 67 members, 47 from the Asia Pacific area, and we should be proud that Australia was a founding member of the Asian Development Bank.

The Treasurer himself is governor for Australia and the member for Fraser, the Parliamentary Secretary for International Development Assistance, is the alternative governor. As I say, we have been an important player in the Asian Development Bank and, like any business or any bank, it reviews its capital needs from time to time and this is done on a five-yearly basis. What we are doing here is fulfilling our commitment and ensuring that we support the Asian Development Bank to improve its capital and its capacity to provide assistance, because we know that if we want to have a stable region and if we want to have sustainable growth in the Asian region we need to ensure that countries and companies, individuals and families are given as much help as possible at this time of global recession and global crisis in the financial markets.

Australia may be an island in terms of geography but we are not an island in terms of our finance or our economy, so we are an important player not only in the G20 but also in the Asia-Pacific region. If you travel through South-East Asia or the Pacific you will see Australians everywhere—on business, on cultural exchanges, playing sport, tourists and backpackers. Australians are integral to the future of Asia. We now play soccer in Asia, and I am proud to say that we are the best team in Asia notwithstanding the most recent defeat by South Korea in a friendly.

Asia is important and we need to show leadership. Parliamentary approval by virtue of this bill for Australia to take up its allocated subscription to a fifth general capital increase at a cost of about US$197.6 million over 10 years is important. Under the general capital increase we are entitled to subscribe to an additional 409,480 shares. Only four per cent of these shares are required to be paid in. What we are doing is supporting our neighbours and our region. We are demonstrating our commitment to our fellow G20 countries and we are showing that we are good neighbours, not just a regional power. There has been some concern in our white paper on defence, but our cultural exchange, sporting contacts, economic development and export and import with our Asian neighbours will demonstrate that we want to be part of the future of the fastest-growing continent in the world.

It is important that we are good regional neighbours. We have been providing assistance for a long time. The previous government, to its credit, did this in the Asian financial crisis back in about 1997. We are doing this now. The previous government, to its credit, assisted in the tsunami in Indonesia. That was a bipartisan approach and this assistance to our Asian neighbours is also bipartisan, and it is important that we use our resources, energy, time and commitment to ensuring that the Asian Development Bank achieves what it hopes to in providing regional support.

The member for Pearce and a number of other speakers have talked about the Millennium Development Goals and the Micah Challenge. I commend the Bible Society for the Poverty and Justice Bible which was given to the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition recently. Many of us received a copy as well. As a person who is not a particularly good Christian but aspires to be a good Christian from time to time, I must say it was such a challenge to read passages of the Bible and discover so much of that great book from the Judeo-Christian tradition which talks about the relief of the poor. I commend the government for its aspirations with respect to achieving the Millennium Development Goals, but I along with many others think we can do better, and it is good to see this bipartisan approach. One of the issues that really concerns me is the desire to reduce child mortality by two-thirds and maternal mortality by three-quarters and reverse the spread of age, malaria and other major diseases by 2015.

In concluding, I want to read a letter from a constituent of mine who lives in the Lockyer Valley, in a rural area at a place called Mulgowie. Her name is Narelle Poole. I thought it was appropriate to read her letter because the message she wanted to give to me as her federal member is a message which is germane to this bill and to all of us. Her letter is to the Prime Minister and is dated 23 August 2009. She writes:

I am writing as an advocate for the poor—those who mostly are unable to speak for themselves.

I believe there is a real opportunity to stop poverty. Thank you for your commitment to the Millenium Development Goals and to increase Australia’s overseas aid to 0.5% of our national income by 2015.

However, I believe we need to aim for the original target of 0.7% of national income, and ask you to make this a firm commitment for the next election.

I also ask that you encourage other leaders of nations to make firm commitments to meet the aid target.

I pray for wisdom and courage as you lead Australia, and thank you for saying ‘sorry’ to our indigenous Australians.

If we can make it an election commitment from both sides of politics at the next election that we raise overseas aid to 0.7 per cent, if that is our desire and our commitment, then our journey will be a lot better. We will be better as a country, and our neighbours will also receive the benefit of our generosity and of our affection and our love.

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