Andrew Broad (Mallee, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Elie Wiesel, the 14-year-old who survived Auschwitz, once said, 'When adults wage war, children suffer.' Unfortunately, this is the story of Africa. At the moment, the conflict and corruption in Africa has translated into a famine. I bring to the parliament's attention the 17 million people, particularly children, who are now dealing with starvation. This was shown to me by Doctors Without Borders when they work out a child's level of malnutrition. When it gets to the red level, they are at a critical stage where they could die, frankly.

I commend Minister Julie Bishop on the federal government's commitment of $30 million of additional money into this region to pay for food. We pay our taxes and we sometimes wonder what we get for them, but can I say that with responsible spending of the collective wealth of Australia we become responsible citizens in the world. We will stand by people when they are in difficult times. We will stand by people who are starving. We will stand by people when they need food and medicine. Many things are often debated around foreign aid, but we should be proud as Australians, because we are a wealthy country and we are a generous country. I am pleased that the minister has listened to my discussions with her on this issue and has delivered. We are standing by people around the world who are in desperate need and in a very difficult situation.