20 October 2016: Over 30 international development organisations and Australian-based social welfare groups, including ChildFund Australia, the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) and the Campaign for Australian Aid, have called on the Australian government to take meaningful action to fight domestic and global poverty.
In an open letter to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull during Anti-Poverty Week, the 36 signatories state: ‘No Poverty is the number one UN Sustainable Development Goal that the Government signed in 2015. Those goals apply globally and here in Australia. We urge you to commit the Government to ending poverty here in Australia, while also doing our fair share as a good global citizen to ending poverty globally.’
Currently, Australia has no established national definition of poverty, and the letter urges the Government to immediately adopt the OECD poverty line, set at 50 per cent of median income. Dr Cassandra Goldie, CEO of ACOSS, said: “Most alarmingly, 17.4 per cent of all children in Australia are living in poverty, an increase of 2 percentage points over the past 10 years.”
And while the number of people globally living on less than $1.25 a day has been reduced by almost half during the last decade, approximately 836 million people still live in extreme poverty.
CEO of ChildFund Australia Nigel Spence said: “Six million fewer children die today than in 1990. Australian Aid has contributed to this achievement, and we have much to be proud of.
“But consecutive budget cuts to the aid program has reduced Australia’s support to developing countries to the lowest level in our history. If we are serious about addressing poverty, we need a solid plan of action that recognises the value of investing in programs that improve living standards for all children, both in Australia and our wider global neighbourhood.”
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – 7 September 2016: ChildFund Australia is one of twenty organisations which have pledged their commitment to implementing the Global Goals for Sustainable Development (SDGs) in Australia, supporting the SDGs in our region, and championing the Goals around the world.
In a Civil Society Statement launched at the Australian SDGs Summit today, the signatory organisations stated: “The SDGs are ambitious and ‘business as usual’ will not be enough. Achieving the goals will require all stakeholders to play their part — governments, civil society and business — and to collaborate as never before.
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has committed Australia’s support to the SDGs, which include new targets to end extreme poverty, fight inequality and fix climate change.
In order to achieve the targets in Australia, the undersigned organisations have called for the SDGs to be embedded in all relevant policies, programs and service delivery work, with the establishment of targets and monitoring procedures to enable Australia to report on its progress between now and 2030.
At a global level, the organisations have agreed to uphold and advocate for the guiding principles that inform the SDGs. Nigel Spence, CEO of ChildFund Australia, said: “This includes ensuring that we leave no one behind, by focusing on the poorest and most marginalised members of society. As a child-focused development agency, we understand too well that often the most vulnerable members of society are children.”
“Children’s rights, in many parts of the globe, continue to be unrealised, so we welcome the SDGs for addressing a range of child protection issues through targets on violence, education, child labour, gender equality and birth registration.”
The statement also emphasises the important contribution Australia can make in achieving the targets, both at home and within our region: “We as Civil Society recognise the positive efforts being undertaken towards sustainable development, and our responsibility to play a leadership role. It is our collective aim that Australia is seen as a global leader on Sustainable Development.”
