February/March 2006

MEMBER NEWS

PGPD elects a new Chair

Earlier this year the PGPD Chair Michael Johnson suggested rotating the position among other members. Michael served as Chair for the past two years and his contribution and support in this role was greatly valued.

Following Mr Johnson's resignation, at its February Hon Dr Sharman Stone MP was elected unapposed to the position of Chair for 2006. Dr Stone has been a long-term and active member of PGPD. Her involvement in PGPD began with her participation in the study tour to Thailand and Vietnam in 1997. In 2005 she represented PGPD at the 21st Asian Parliamentarians Meeting on Population and Development: Population in Emergency. She has taken a lead role in raising awareness of population and reproductive health issues.

Hon Dr Sharman Stone MP, newly elected Chair of PGPD. Photo taken at the 21st Asian Parliamentarians Meeting on Population and Development, Cambodia, 2005

Motion on UNFPA State of World Population Report 2005

In one of his last roles as Chair of PGPD, Michael Johnson MP sponsored a Private Members' Motion in support of the UNFPA State of World Population Report 2005.

In his speech, Mr Johnson stated that "without gender equality and the right to reproductive health, the goals of universal primary education, improving maternal health, reducing childhood mortality, combating HIV-AIDS and eradicating poverty are truly impossible."

PGPD members Bob McMullan MP, Margaret May MP and Laurie Ferguson MP were joined by other parliamentarians in speaking to the motion. View the motion and speeches.

The same motion was put last year in the Senate and Western Australian, South Australian, Tasmanian and New South Wales Parliaments.

UNGASS review

In 2001 the UN General Assembly held a Special Session on HIV/AIDS (UNGASS). In 2006 it will review progress towards the targets set in the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS, agreed to at the UNGASS.

The PGPD has written to the Minister for Health and Ageing seeking further information on Australia's progress.

PGPD activities for 2006

The PGPD's program of activities for 2006 will include the following:

• 25-29 March - visit by Steve Sinding, Director-General, International Planned Parenthood Federation. PGPD will meet with Dr Sinding at 4pm 28 March. Dr Sinding will also meet with the Parliamentary Secretary, AusAID officials and NGOs. He will also meet with PGPD members from the NSW Parliament.
• 22-23 June - visit by Sultan Aziz, Director, Asia Pacific, UNFPA
• August - presentation and discussion on indigenous sexual and reproductive health (TBC)

At the February meeting members expressed interest in hosting two roundtables later in the year - one on progressing a national SRH policy/framework, and one on SRH in the aid program.

PGPD members

A current list of all federal and state PGPD members is available from the PGPD website.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Global Safe Abortion Programme
The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) has launched a Global Safe Abortion Programme to support services and information to reduce unsafe abortion worldwide. The new programme received political and financial support from the UK Government, which is to contribute an initial £3m to the scheme.

The Programme will help to ensure that internationally agreed targets to reduce maternal mortality in the world's poorest countries are achieved by 2015. It will help IPPF member associations do more to stop unsafe abortions as well as help support groups such as Marie Stopes International halt the decline in family planning and reproductive services in some countries.

Further information:

• IPPF website
• IPPF report ‘Death and Denial: Unsafe Abortion and Poverty'.

DOMESTIC NEWS

RU486 repeal of ministerial responsibility

Senators Lyn Allison, Judith Troeth, Fiona Nash and Claire Moore

PGPD members took a leading role in the campaign to repeal the law requiring the Health Minister to approve any application to register the drug RU486 in Australia. PGPD members Senators Moore, Troeth and Allison were joined by Senator Nash in co-sponsoring the bill that was passed by both houses in February. The change in the law means that any application to register RU486 in Australia will be treated the same as all other drugs in Australia and be assessed by the Therapeutic Goods Administration, not the Minister.

Government announces new funding for pregnancy counselling

The Australian Government announced it will spend $51 million over four years on a 24 hour pregnancy support hotline and counselling by general practitioners and other health professionals. The Prime Minister stated that he hoped the measures would result in a fall in Australia's abortion rate. There has been debate around whether the funding is targeted to the kinds of services that women with an unwanted pregnancy need.

• Joint press release (Prime Minister and Minister for Health)
• Pregnancy Support Measures - Questions and Answers (Department of Health)
• Women need counselling, not coercion - The Age , 6 March 2006

Parliamentary Inquiry into sex education

PGPD members Senator Lyn Allison and Senator Judith Troeth have developed the terms of reference for a proposed Senate Committee inquiry into a national approach to sex education. This comes after the RU486 debate, where many parliamentarians on both sides of the debate called for better sex education to help decrease the number of abortions.

• Pre-teen sex classes push, The Australian, 8 March 2006
• Let's talk about sex, baby, Today Tonight, 8 March 2006

ASIAN FORUM OF PARLIAMENTARIANS ON POPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT (AFPPD)

AFPPD statement to the UN Commission on the Status of Women

Chair of the AFPPD Standing Committee on Women, Steve Chadwick, has submitted a statement on behalf of AFPPD to the 50th Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), 27 February to 10 March, urging strong support in particular for the second theme of the session, "equal participation of women and men in the decision-making process at all levels". View the statement.

AFPPD events - 2006

AFPPD will host two major meetings this year:

Further information about these meetings and the work of AFPPD is available from the AFPPD website or contact the PGPD Secretariat.

High-level OECD Parliamentary Seminar on the “Policy Implications of Ageing Populations”

PGPD was represented by Hon Dr Meredith Burgmann MLC at this OECD meeting in Paris in late February. The meeting discussed issues around pensions, long term care, older workers and migration.

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.

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