TRADE UNION MOVEMENT

The Hon. S.W. KEY (Ashford) (15:27): As a trade unionist, I was very pleased recently to attend two functions organised by our local trade union movement and the progressive movements in South Australia with regard to foreign aid. Both these functions were to raise money for projects in Vietnam and Timor-Leste. Members of this house would probably be aware that, over the years, the Australian Trade Union Movement, through the ACTU, has organised a number of functions (particularly redevelopment functions) through its body called APHEDA. The first function for APHEDA was directed at setting up services for AIDS and hepatitis C support treatment in Vietnam.

The night also celebrated the life of one of the Miscellaneous Workers Union organisers, Terri Daktyl, who was killed recently in a motor car accident. Terri was a trade union official more recently for the Miscellaneous Workers Union, but, over the years, she had been very active in raising money for APHEDA. She was also part of the trade union group which earlier this year cycled around Vietnam to raise money for the different APHEDA projects in Vietnam. The other function I attended, along with the member for Little Para, was also organised by a number of trade union people, and the campaign for East Timor and the Alola Foundation were significant at that particular function.

One of the guest speakers was the recently retired president of the New South Wales Legislative Council, Dr Meredith Bergman. Not only has Dr Bergman decided to put her time in retirement into the area of overseas aid but also she has been identified as an AusAID ambassador for women. She knows the area of Timor-Leste very well and it is very close to her heart. As members in this chamber would probably know, East Timor has the highest fertility rate in the world, around 6.7. I am not entirely sure how that rate is worked out because, as I understand it, most women have at least eight surviving children at any one time and give birth to at least 12, in many cases. As we also know, unfortunately in the undeveloped world, pregnancy and labour are still a life-threatening part of a woman's life, and those women still tend to have many children. Because of the culture and religion in many of those developing countries it is understandable, considering the mortality rate of children being very high, that one would continue to have children.

This leads me to the debate that is currently being held about access to family planning information. On one level there have been many debates within Australia but, as the Prime Minister said recently, it is important that we look at population control mechanisms. Today, I am really referring to the debate that is going on with regard to overseas aid and the guidelines that have been put on AusAID funding, as I understand it, forbidding aid being provided that gives out information on family planning services, including abortion. The people who support these guidelines tend to emphasise the issue of abortion, but, as I understand it, Senator Harradine, who was at the centre of these guidelines being put in place by the previous federal government, was referring to family planning in general and getting information. My own view is that information and services should not be tied to one person's political or ideological view of family planning. I think that is totally unacceptable.

I think that the subjects of the development aid should be able to decide how the aid is distributed wherever possible, not the giver. So, to have these strings on the overseas aid that we provide is particularly serious, in my view. Again, after the country makes a decision about overseas aid, it is also important that the people who are receiving the aid (and in this case I am particularly talking about women and children) have a choice about the information and support services that they get. By that I mean I think it is important for women to be able to aware of what family planning services are available and, if they choose, to take advantage of those services.

Time expired.