Kirsten Livermore (Capricornia, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In private members' business on Monday night in the Federation Chamber, members debated a motion that was put forward by the member for Flinders marking World Plumbing Day, which was on 11 March. I missed my opportunity to speak on that debate because time had expired. But in my preparation for that speech, it seemed to me that it was very worthwhile spending my time during the adjournment debate tonight acknowledging that particular event. I can understand that, at first glance, other members and those listening might ask themselves why the House might have spent that time on Monday night recognising a particular trade or profession with a motion such as that about World Plumbing Day. But those same members and listeners would not think twice about the House debating a motion about the Millennium Development Goals, which happens quite regularly. We do that here in the Australian parliament because we take very seriously our obligation to work with the international community to reduce poverty and disease in the world. I note that the member for Corio has just left the chamber. In his role as the Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Island Affairs he is at the forefront of advocacy about Australia's responsibility for improving the living standards of our Pacific neighbours. The plumbers of the world, as represented by the World Plumbing Council, take those obligations very seriously too. They are out there every day providing the clean water and sanitation essential to good health and human development. Clean water and sanitation are explicitly included in Millennium Development Goal No. 10, with the aim being to halve the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation by 2015. Furthermore it has been recognised by the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon that in fact few of the Millennium Development Goals are achievable without those basic needs being met. He has said:

… access to sanitation is deeply connected to virtually all the MDG in particular those involving the environment, gender equality and the reduction of child mortality and poverty.

Given those words, you can see that the World Plumbing Council is to be commended for keeping us focused on this important aspect of the Millennium Development Goals and for championing the role of plumbers in supporting the health of people today and helping us to manage our water resources sustainably.

Progress is being made around the world, but yet again this year's World Plumbing Day on 11 March was a chance for all of us to reflect on how much still needs to be done and the enormous human cost of inaction on clean water and sanitation. One in five or around half a billion people in the world have no source of clean drinking water. Some 40 per cent of the world's population do not have access to a hygienic means of personal sanitation—in other words, not even access to something as basic as a pit latrine.

The consequences of dirty water and lack of hygiene are incredibly serious. According to the World Health Organisation, each and every day 3,900 children die because of dirty water or poor hygiene. In fact disease transmitted through dirty water or human excrement is the second leading cause of death among children worldwide.

The Australian government has been part of global efforts to improve access to clean water and sanitation in developing countries. One example is the series of projects in Indonesia where 77,000 homes were connected to safe piped water and 5,000 households were connected to sewers. In the last budget we added another $433 million for the water, sanitation and hygiene sector to Australia's aid program, doubling spending in this area to $870 million over the period from 2011-12 to 2014-15. This additional funding will help to provide over 2.5 million people in Africa, South Asia and East Asia with access to clean water and two million people globally with access to basic sanitation and improved hygiene.

Governments can and are providing leadership and funding towards meeting the Millennium Development Goals with respect to sanitation and water. It is plumbers, however, who bring their expertise to the task of designing practical systems for providing water and sanitation and installing them in the most efficient way. That is why there has been widespread and deserved recognition of the role of plumbers as we mark World Plumbing Day. Here in Australia, we cannot be accused of taking water for granted and we do not take our plumbers for granted either. We know that plumbers are a key part of transforming our homes and cities to be capable of conserving and recycling water. We have learnt to appreciate the true value of water and the motion was all about showing that we appreciate our plumbers as well. (Time expired)