July 2007

Welcome to the Parliamentary Group on Population and Development (PGPD)
e-newsletter, providing updates on PGPD activities and the latest news
on population and development and sexual and reproductive health.

New Members
A current list of all federal and state PGPD members is available from the PGPD website. Over the past two months, two federal senators and one state parliamentarian have joined.

Pacific MPs meet in Samoa
Robyn Parker of the NSW Parliament and the former PGPD Secretariat Chair, Chris Richards, attended the 2nd Regional Meeting of the Pacific Parliamentary Assembly on Population and Development in Samoa in April.

The goal of this meeting was to set up a Secretariat to service Parliamentary Groups on Population and Development in Parliaments in the Pacific.

A draft Constitution was passed, agreement for a Secretariat based at the South Pacific Commission was given, and the commitments made in the Suva Declaration on HIV/AIDS which had been prepared at the previous Pacific Parliamentarians meeting was reaffirmed as one of the priorities for the Parliamentary Groups to start work upon.

There was also agreement that our own Parliamentary Secretariat (PGPD) and NZ would offer mentoring and training for the newly formed Secretariat and that the three Secretariats would work closely together on issues that matter in the Pacific.

Robyn Parker (right) and Chris Richards (left) with UNFPA, AFPPD and NZAID delegates at the Samoa meeting

Sex education/strategy
The June PGPD meeting in Parliament House focused on sex education in Australia, and the draft Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) Strategy. Three representatives from the Public Health Association of Australia updated parliamentarians on the development of a national sexual and reproductive heatlh strategy. Professor Anne Mitchell (Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, La Trobe University) then briefed the meeting on sex education.

It was agreed that sex education would be further discussed at the next meeting, particularly in line with the New Zealand PGPD visit as it would be helpful to understand their initiatives in this area. In regards to a national SRH strategy, it was agreed to finalise the development of this draft strategy and continue discussions.

PGPD Website
The PGPD website www.pgpd.asn.au contains information on members, PGPD's activities, reports and photos from conferences and meetings, resources on current population and development issues. A membership brochure for parliamentarians interested in joining PGPD can also be downloaded.

Other Websites of Interest
Public Health Association of Australia's website gives information about a range of health issues. They also have a weekly bulletin highlighting articles of interest and new additions to the website.

Jane Singleton is new Chair
Jane Singleton has been appointed Chair of the PGPD Secretariat, succeeding Christina Richards as CEO of the Australian Reproductive Health Alliance (ARHA). She has a broad range of experience in media and family planning.        >>>media release

Wide coverage for report

Extensive media coverage was given to the launch of a new PGPD report in Parliament House on 30 May (pictured).

The report, Sexual and Reproductive Health and the Millennium Development Goals in the Australian Aid Program – the Way Forward, arose from the Roundtable Discussions in August and September last year.

Its main recommendations include rescinding the AusAID current family planning guidelines which effectively ban the use of aid funds for some types of contraceptives, and for information and services about abortion.

As reported on ABC and SBS TV news, the guidelines, a legacy of former Senator Brian Harradine, have had the effect of encouraging unsafe abortions, which are responsible for 13 per cent of all maternal deaths globally, many in our region.

In an interview with ABC Radio News, PGPD Chair, Dr Mal Washer, described the government's current aid policy in this area as "total perversity, done for all the wrong reasons and giving all the wrong messages".

"It's not what a civilised country should be doing in its aid program," he said. "It's repugnant and an insult to women, and the government should have scrapped the policy long ago.

"What is even more ridiculous or more repugnant is that under these guidelines, if you go and have an illegal abortion where there is a 13 per cent chance of death on average, and you happen to survive, we're happy to give you counselling.

"Well that's good for those who didn't die but for the 13 per cent, I think counselling dead people is pretty difficult."
           * What are the guidelines?
           * "Aid that fosters poverty and death"
                - The Daily Telegraph

UNFPA State of the World Population Report Launch 2007 in Parliament House

This Report's theme 'unleashing the potential of urban growth' was launched in Parliament House on 27 June 2007 by Ian Howie, UNFPA Representative to Vietnam. Bob McMullan, Shadow Minister for Federal/State Relations and International Development Assistance made a welcoming speech. Five other specialist speakers made presentations including: Kath Wellman A proactive approach to create space for urban restructure development and management; Ray Prowse The state of the art of solar energy technologies;Tom Snow Making buildings more efficient; Chris Johnson Polycentric Cities; and Paul Tranter Child Safety in Cities: lessons from monstropolis.

           * UNFPA State of the World Population
           * PGPD press release

International News

Australian Government announces Pacific grants
The Australian Government has announced $160,000 in funding for nine projects which will support women's leadership and decision making in Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste. The projects aim to strengthen women's leadership skills and encourage participation in decision making.
                              >>>news release

UK MP's to consider cut in abortion time limit
It has been reported that UK MPs are to launch an inquiry into the impact of scientific developments on abortion law, including whether medical advances in the care of very premature babies mean the 24 week time limit should be reduced. The investigation by the Commons Science and Technology Committee is the first dedicated to the issue of abortion conducted in the UK Parliament.
                               >>>article in The Guardian

US Senate clears foreign abortions aid
A US Senate committee has joined the House of Representatives in defying a White House veto threat, moving to reverse a ban on contraception aid to overseas groups that offer abortion. The Senate Appropriations Committee included the proposal in a $US34.24 billion ($A40.5 billion) foreign aid bill that also places new emphasis on fighting diseases such as HIV/AIDS. The measure now goes to the Senate floor.
                           >>>article in The Age

US appoints new World Bank chief
The World Bank's executive board has confirmed that Robert Zoellick will become the World Bank's new chief. Mr Zoellick, who was nominated by US President George W Bush, will replace Paul Wolfowitz who is stepping down on June 30.
                  >>>article in The Economic Times

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