Page 3587 - Week 12 - Thursday, 20 September 1990
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I will end my statement with a brief story from Queensland. There was a debate in Queensland on the 7.30 Report, and in that debate there was a poll. Of the 6,500 people who replied to the poll on the question, "Should Australia sign the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child?", 94 per cent said, "No, it should not". Shortly after that, the Australian Government signed the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
MS MAHER (4.34): Mr Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to express my support for the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. I believe it is essential that we put this important convention into perspective so as to understand why it is needed.
Mr Speaker, some of the issues the UN convention will address include the fact that more than 38,000 children die every day due to lack of food, basic health care or because they are homeless. Unfortunately, some of these children are Australian. Also, in some cultures infanticide continues to be practised. The killing of children, either deliberately or otherwise, by police officers or government officials is reported as a common event in many countries.
Mr Speaker, it is estimated that worldwide more than one billion people, most of them children, have no home or live in appalling conditions. There are more than 10 million child refugees. In many current conflicts 90 per cent of the victims are women and children. Another problem of considerable magnitude in many societies, including Western societies, is the abuse of children, which includes sexual abuse. Hopefully, the Alliance Government's recent amendment to the domestic violence legislation will go a step further towards addressing this problem in the ACT.
Children also often face discrimination due to their sex, culture, race or creed. Over the last decade, budget share allocations to education, juvenile justice, public health, social welfare and other services for children have decreased in many countries. These are just a few of the reasons why Australia should become a signatory to this international instrument which will recognise and protect the fundamental rights of children.
Mr Speaker, I am concerned that this convention is perceived by some members of our society as interfering with the relationship between parents and children, as taking away the rights of parents and diminishing the role of the family. Since the convention became internationally recognised, the guiding principle behind this document has been to recognise the special human rights of children, rather than their special rights as opposed to other humans. I find it disappointing that some members of our community, including Mr Stevenson, constantly refuse to listen to reason and to see the possible benefits to children worldwide which can be achieved by the adoption of this convention. In his recent ministerial statement my colleague the Attorney-General covered the objections to
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