Lee Rhiannon (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) 24 March is World Tuberculosis Day,

(ii) tuberculosis (TB) is a preventable and treatable disease claiming the lives of up to 1.4 million people every year, mostly in developing countries, and

(iii) the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates most new TB cases in 2011 occurred in the south-east Asia region, which, combined with the Western Pacific region, accounted for 59 per cent of incident cases globally;

(b) recognises that:

(i) investment in research and development funding for TB has stagnated over the past few years,

(ii) in 2011 the WHO Global Plan to Stop TB suffered an estimated 68 per cent shortfall of the targeted $2 billion for TB research and development, equating to a shortfall of US$1.35 billion,

(iii) the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is a key international partnership providing critical basic services for many developing countries in the fight against TB, with more than two thirds of international financing for TB services provided by the Global Fund, and

(iv) the Australian Government has provided increasing support to the Global Fund since 2004, but has deferred payment of $11 million to the Global Fund in the current financial year;

(c) calls on the Government to:

(i) further expand and monitor results from its TB program in Papua New Guinea, and

(ii) include the deferred payment of $11 million to the Global Fund in the 2013-14 Budget, and work with other donors to ensure the Global Fund receives an increased replenishment for the 2014 to 2016 period.

Question negatived.

I am not calling a division, but I wish it to be noted that the Greens supported this motion and we would have called a division if there had been time. It is a very important issue.