Bob Carr (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

The Senate will appreciate that Australia has a great responsibility in Oruzgan province, where our lead role has made a difference to security outcomes. But, in terms of the contribution of Australian development aid, I can report with pride—and I think every Australian is entitled to be proud of this statistic—that we have constructed 227 schools in this province, including 39 girls schools. They were schools not there before Australia assumed these responsibilities. They were schools that did not exist when the Taliban ruled in Afghanistan. Five hundred women will participate in literacy groups. Eighty per cent of women in Oruzgan will receive at least one antenatal visit. We have trained 30 female master teachers trainers to get more women into the teaching profession.