Labor's Identity crisis

I may be everything that John Birmhingham thinks makes the Labor party doomed (doomed he says).

 My grandparents were fair dinkum working class.  Dad's dad was a Firey.  Mum's dad worked for the water board.  My grandmothers could not vote or could not drink in a public bar.  Once they married, it was expected that they would give up their careers and stay at home to raise my respective parents, my Aunts & my Uncles.

My parents climbed the ladders of opportunity.  Dad obtained a cadetship and worked as a Health Inspector, eventually climbing to run Building and Town Planning sections of Municipal Authorities.

Mum also climbed a ladder. She gained a scholarship to be a teacher.

As a child, I watched Mum bang her head on glass ceilings.  She needed twice the experience and three times the qualifications to break into administration.  She taught by day and studied at night.

My siblings and I (through no fault of our own) were the kids of professionals. The lower tiers of our maslow's hierarchy of human needs was met.   We were raised in the hinterland of the Sunshine Coast, on a farm, surrounded by rainforest & close to beaches & all sorts of wilderness.

My parents took me off to Sunday School, where I learnt about Missionaries.  I watched slides shows of poor people in developing communities.  I did not want to save them.  I did want them to access to clean water and designated, sustainable places to poo.

So as an adult, I must be what JB refers to as soft left!  I am a Greenie (though not a Green). I am a humanitarian.  I work as a mercenary contractor for a Municipal Authority and run a floundering social enterprise.

So on Labor Day, 2012.  I am working from home, with the dual responsibilities of child care & provider.  I would have liked to have marched with the Labour movement today, but I am not sure I belong.

Walks for water and sanitation are kicking off across the globe

Press Release

For Immediate release:

Walks for water and sanitation are kicking off across the globe

Over 300,000 people across the world are expected to take action on the water and sanitation crisis from Saturday 17 March to Sunday 25 March 2012.

The Walk for water and sanitation in Brisbane will take place on the 23 March 2012 at Noon at Reddacliff Place.

People are walking in over 60 countries from Bangladesh to Benin, Nigeria to Norway and Mozambique to Malaysia. They are walking in solidarity with the millions of people – overwhelmingly women and children - who walk great distances each day to collect water for their basic needs and the billions who have no safe place to go to the toilet.

Walking around the world

Walkers will be calling on governments to put an end to the water and sanitation crisis that kills one child under five every twenty seconds, 4,000 every day. They are walking to demand that politicians take action to tackle preventable diarrhoeal diseases that are the biggest killer of children in Africa, taking more young lives than HIV/AIDs, malaria and measles combined.

Details of some of the walks include:

• In Belgium, an incredible 21,270 school children will be walking a combined total of 133,151km on World Water Day, that’s over a third of the distance from the Earth to the moon!
• The entire Cirque de Soleil cast are planning a walk through Las Vegas in their costumes.
• 30 energetic walkers in London are currently training to walk the 20 miles from one side of the city to the other.
• Over 10,000 people will walk in Nigeria whilst 40,000 are expected to walk in Madagascar, both countries directly affected directly by the water and sanitation crisis.
• In Kannungu in Uganda, walkers are meeting with the Minister of Water and Environment, and officials from the Ministry of Health to tell them it’s time for action.

At crisis point

Edith Veromaminiaina, Research Officer at WaterAid in Madagascar, described the extent of the crisis:

“70% of the Malagasy people live in rural areas, where the access to drinking water is less than 34%. In many places, children set off on their walk to collect water late at night and don’t arrive home until the next morning. They have a sleepless night and walk very far but still only draw dirty water. This is why we are taking part in The World Walks for Water and Sanitation.”

Jennifer Williams, coordinator of the World Walks for Water and Sanitation campaign added, “Unsafe drinking water and poor sanitation mean children are missing school and are dying needlessly from disease caused by contaminated water. Ending this crisis would increase school attendance, help break the poverty cycle and, most importantly, save lives.”

Demanding that world leaders take action

This year, the timing of the World Walks for Water and Sanitation is crucial. It comes almost exactly a month before leaders from across the world gather in Washington D.C. at a vital meeting on the 20^th of April to discuss what they are going to do to get taps and toilets to the world’s poorest communities.

This High-Level Meeting, organised by the Sanitation and Water for All partnership, is a huge opportunity for real change but it won’t work unless Development and Finance Ministers give it the attention it deserves.

Participants in the World Walks for Water and Sanitation event will send a clear message to politicians that they cannot ignore the water and sanitation crisis any longer. They will demand that leaders commit to attending this meeting and prepare to make strong commitments for action.

Mubu Kalaluka, Project Manager at ROCS in Zambia, insisted that water and sanitation must be a political priority. "In Zambia, the key messages for the Government will be that the status quo is not acceptable and the Government needs to do more to ensure access to water and sanitation."

Jon Lane, Executive Director of the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) stresses that it is important that governments understand that sanitation and water are clever investments. “Investing in sanitation, one of the most off-track Millennium Development Goals, generates a 1 to 9 return. It is difficult to imagine any business person passing on the chance to make such a profit; yet this is just what is happening today.”

/Ends

Notes for editors:

1. The World Walks for Water is organized by the following organisations:

· End Water Poverty is a global coalition of over 175 organisations campaigning to end the water and sanitation crisis.

· Freshwater Action Network (FAN) is a major network of civil society organisations implementing and influencing water and sanitation policy and practice.

· WASH Advocacy Initiative is a nonprofit advocacy effort in Washington DC entirely dedicated to helping solve the global safe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) challenge.

· WASH United is a coalition of civil society organisations, United Nation agencies, governments and sport stars promoting safe drinking Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) for all people, everywhere.

· WaterAid is an NGO dedicated to helping people escape the stranglehold of poverty and disease caused by living without safe water and sanitation.

· The Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council is a global multi-stakeholder partnership organisation that works to improve the lives of poor people.

· The World Toilet Organisation communicates the need for better toilet standards in both the developed and developing economies of the world and provides a service platform for all toilet associations, related organisations and committed individuals to facilitate an exchange of ideas relating to health and cultural issues.

· The Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP) is a growing alliance that brings together trade unions, INGOs, the women’s and youth movements, community and faith groups and others to call for action from world leaders in the global North and South to meet their promises to end poverty and inequality.

2. The Sanitation and Water for All partnership was created in 2010 and is an alliance of national governments, donors, civil society organisations and other development partners. They are starting to work together to increase political will and improve aid-effectiveness by mobilizing and better targeting resources for water supply and sanitation.

3. The Sanitation and Water for All second High-Level Meeting on water and sanitation will be held on 20 April 2012. World leaders from the Global North and South will meet to take action on water and sanitation.

Please access http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldwalksforwater/ for photographs. Original copies available on request.

world walks for water

MEDIA RELEASE:

WHAT?: Some friends & acquaintances have organised a Walk.

Now they must gather friends, high-profile supporters and politicians to join the walk........and they need your help.

WHEN?: The Brisbane Walks For Water is Friday the 23 March, 2012 at noon (12:00 gmt +10).

WHERE?: They shall rendezvous at Reddacliffe Place and march around the CBD

We are walking for water & sanitation.

WHY?: So why is the world walking for water and sanitation in March 2012?

Do you even know what the hell sanitation is?

Let's start with some statistics:

• One in eight people in the world do not have access to safe drinking water.
• One in three people don’t have access to a private clean toilet.

Women and children walk on average six kilometres every day to fetch water for their basic needs. They often walk to unprotected water sources, such as rivers or muddy dugouts, and the average weight of water they carry is 20kg. ( UNDP, Human Development Report, 2006)

2.6 billion people still live without a clean and safe toilet ( UNICEF/WHO Joint Monitoring Report, 2010). Instead, they have only a roadside, bucket or plastic bag to use. This is humiliating and also often leads to water contamination and the spreading of diarrhoeal diseases such as dysentery and cholera.

Women and girls are especially affected by poor sanitation access. They risk being sexually assaulted when using latrines in remote locations or walking to fields to defecate.

4,000 children die every day from diarrhoea caused by unclean water and unsafe sanitation ( WHO, Safer Water, Better Health, 2008).

Diarrhoeal diseases are the biggest killer of young children in Africa, killing more than HIV/AIDS, malaria and measles combined.

This lack of access to clean water and sanitation impacts severely on health, education and income.

It’s time for change. We are not talking about a change of Government.

The World Walks for Water and Sanitation 2012 is a global event taking place around World Water Day, from 17-25 March 2012. Thousands of people across the world will walk together to demand an end to the water and sanitation crisis. The walks will build on the success of the World’s Longest Toilet Queue in 2010 and the World Walks for Water campaign in 2011. Last year, over 350,000 people in more than 75 different countries walked together to demand that politicians keep their promises and step up their efforts to protect the right to sanitation and water for all.

Because of these global actions, governments are beginning to take notice, promises have been made, and there has been progress both internationally and within countries. This has encouraged hundreds of organisations and thousands of people to come together again in 2012 and keep up the pressure!

In April 2012, world leaders will attend the second High-Level Meeting (HLM) of the Sanitation and Water for All partnership in Washington D.C. It is really important that your Development or Finance Minister attends this meeting. You can take the opportunity of your walk to invite them to attend and demand that real progress and firm actions are delivered upon.

ABOUT ROWAN BARBER: Rowan is a husband, father, Ecologist, Engineer Without a Border, State Manager Australian Sustainable Business Group (ASBG). He works with poo & wee

Rowan Barber

State Manager

Australian Sustainable Business Group

international development assistance

I have been trolling through the 2011-12 budget looking for some good news for the environment.

I posted some thoughts here on the state of the environment budget.

Yesterday, I had the honour of hearing the Australian Foreign Minister, Kevin Rudd, bang on about the Official Development Assistance (ODA) Budget

I have a few thoughts that I would like to share with my growing readership. (I think there are nine of you now).

One of the first points that @KRuddMP made yesterday was that: "The power that lies in your hands"

Apparently NGO's lobbying the Torries on maintaining the Aid #budget. was actually successful. It is alleged that this week Tony Abbott dropped a policy statement from his Budget reply speech that linked spending on Aid with budget deficits. This followed an orchestrated campaign by international development NGOs to lobby the opposition members of Parliament.

The next piece of good news is that 82% of Australians support the Aid programme. @KRuddMP alleges that: our (Australia's) natural sense of compassion does not stop at the Continental shelf

It is a sad fact of Australian political life that @KRuddMP has to justify the education expenditure in Indonesia on the basis of self interest, just as John Howard did previously. Spending money in the right places for all the wrong reasons.....

@KRuddMP discussed #fees & #food influencing participation in schools. He did not mention the impact that #toilets (or lack there of) have on the participation rates of girls once they start to menstruate.

@KRuddMP talked briefly about maternal health for women & children without the passion of his lovely wife: Therese_Rein (who spoke recently at an International Midwifery Day event at the Bronco's Leagues Club).

It is another sad fact of Australian political life that @KRuddMP discussed the water, sanitation & hygiene (#WASH) budget, without the passion of Bob McMullan. I suspect the spending on #WASH has been cut in real terms with more money allocated but over a longer period of time. Bob McMullan, the former Parliamentary Secretary for International Development Assistance (& former minister in previous Labor Governments) retired at the last election. Bob was not afraid to get his photo taken with a toilet. He was a great advocate for toilets. I miss him dearly.

@KRuddMP has a different agenda & a different set of priorities. Australia has ramped up it spending in Africa. The relative amounts being spent in Africa are quite small in the global economic sense & quite insignificant in terms of the problems that need to be addressed.

However, I fear that Australia's engagement in Africa comes at the expense of programmes that were running in Asia Pacific. I fear that AusAid & its partners lack the experience & expertise to be effective in the African context. I have even heard stories of Australian Aid causing more harm than good, when the only Water Resource Officer for a region, is pulled out of his community to participate in Australian sponsored training.

I fear that Australia's engagement in International Development Assistance in Africa has more to do with Australia's ambitions for representation in the United Nations, than anything else.

It is great to see Australia ramp up its funding for tackling easily preventable blindness. It is a shame to see funding for tackling easily preventable diseases through sanitation & hygiene has been cut back (in real terms) & spread a lot thinner.

It is great to hear a focus on eliminating violence against women & acknowledgement of Australia's own issues at home.

@KRuddMP wrapped up his discourse with a plug for volunteering & the new Australian Civilian Corps

In question time, @KRuddMP applauded a better relationship between AusAid & NGO's. in response to a question about exorbitant salaries @KRuddMP indicated that salaries & fees to technical specialists have been reduced from ~44% to ~22% of the AusAid budget.

Whilst I see a need for Aid (particularly following disasters & war) & International Development Assistance, I see a future for social enterprise & micro-finance to play a greater role in poverty alleviation.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The 2011-12 Aid Budget at a glance

Total Australian Official Development Assistance (ODA) in 2011-12 is estimated at $4.8 billion, this is equivalent to 0.35 per cent of Gross National Income (GNI).

New aid funding in the 2011-12 Budget will implement the Government’s 2010 election commitments for the aid program on:

· improving access to education,

· better maternal health for women and children,

· access to water and sanitation,

· tackling avoidable blindness,

· eliminating violence against women, and

· Australian volunteers.

In 2011-12 around 89 per cent, of Australia’s aid will be delivered through AusAID, the remainder will be delivered through other Australian government agencies, such as the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research.

Around half of Australia’s aid in 2011-12 is expected to be provided to the Asia Pacific region. The ten countries that are expected to receive the most Australian aid in 2011-12 – Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Afghanistan, Vietnam, East Timor, Philippines, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Cambodia – are all in the Asia Pacific.

Assistance in the education, health and economic growth sectors is expected to comprise more than half of Australian aid expenditure in 2011-12.

AusAID’s humanitarian and emergency related expenditure is estimated to increase to $325.0 million in 2011–12. This will support the United Nations, Red Cross, and other international and Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) to meet humanitarian needs in Asia and the Pacific, Africa and other developing regions.