Only 160km separates the Australian mainland from its closest neighbour Papua New Guinea (PNG), but in many ways the countries are worlds apart.
According to recent estimates, the rate of maternal deaths in PNG is more than five times higher than Australia’s maternal mortality rate from 1964 to 1966. It is more than 35 times greater than Australia’s current maternal mortality rate.
The far north Queensland region of Cairns has a population of about 162,451 people. The main hospital in Cairns has nine birthing rooms, each with an ensuite, 24-hour obstetric support and a special care nursery.
Three of the rooms in the maternity unit have large baths where mothers can relax during labour or have a water birth. Mothers at Cairns Hospital can choose to have mood music, massage oil, aromatherapy burners, heat packs and a fridge in their room.
More than 2,800 people work in nursing roles in Cairns and the surrounding hospitals. Mothers who give birth in Cairns have access to extensive resources to prepare them for birth, as well as healthcare professionals to guide them through the process.There are about 2,700 births at Cairns Hospital each year or about seven a day.
Just an hour away by plane in Port Moresby, the capital of PNG, the conditions could not be more different.
The Australian Government has launched a new initiative to prevent Australian volunteers from inadvertently contributing to child exploitation through the practice of orphanage tourism.
The Smart Volunteering Campaign discourages Australians from any form of short-term, unskilled volunteering in overseas orphanages.
At the launch, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said: “For decades, thousands of Australians from all backgrounds have given their time and skills selflessly to help communities overseas.
“However, some Australian volunteers have unwittingly contributed to harmful practices by participating in the “voluntourism” industry and engaging in orphanage tourism. This work will help to ensure the good intentions of so many Australians are fulfilled through positive actions that protect them and vulnerable children overseas.”
ChildFund Australia, which has long advocated for an end to orphanage tourism, has welcomed this recognition of the harmful impact institutional care can have on the most vulnerable children.
Mark Kavenagh, child protection advisor at ChildFund Australia, says: “We know that children are best off with their family, or with community-based care. In Australia today, children are very rarely placed in residential care. If they are, it is a last resort and never on a permanent basis.
“In developing communities, many orphanages or children’s homes are unregistered, under-regulated and under-staffed by workers lacking in formal qualifications. Children are vulnerable to physical and sexual abuse, neglect and sometimes exploitation.
“These risks are only heightened in facilities where volunteering tourists and visitors are permitted to have direct contact with children.”
