Australian decision pending on abortion
Updated
Australia's Foreign minister says the government is close to a decision on whether to scrap a ban on giving aid to groups that provide abortion.
Presenter: Linda Mottram
Speakers: Australia's Foreign minister, Stephen Smith, Oxfam Australia's acting executive director, Chris Roche
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MOTTRAM: Its been a long discussion on an issue that took Barack Obama just days to deal with. But Australia's Foreign minister, Stephen Smith, says Canberra won't be making its decision based on Washington's choices.
SMITH: The decision by President Obama came as no surprise, it mirrored a similar decision that President Clinton made. There's been a change of policy effectively reflecting Democrat and Republican lines, we've had this matter under very serious and careful consideration, it's of course an issue where there are strong views firmly held, and we've been giving it careful consideration, both internally, within the Parliamentary Party, but also in consultations with interested stakeholders, including NGOs in the development assistance arena. It's still under consideration, I don't think we're too far away from making a decision, but we'll do that in our own time. We're not going to be driven by the decision that President Obama has made.
MOTTRAM: Strong views there certainly are. And, with the Australian Parliament shortly to begin sitting for a new year, it is expected the ban will again be raised. But its unclear why it has taken more than half a year to resolve it .. why the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, hasn't simply acted on a matter that is not legislative but a question of a ministerial change of guidelines.
Australia's ban came about because of a political deal under the previous conservative Australian government of John Howard. It continues to frustrate and anger aid groups, though conservatives warn that if the government drops the ban it will anger churches. Oxfam Australia's acting executive director is Chris Roche (pron: ROE- SH).
ROCHE: Oxfam's position is that if we're going to achieve the millenium development goals, particularly in health, we've got to reduce maternal mortality. UNICEF has just produced a very good report on the state of the worlds children and we can see the maternal mortality rates are growing in countries including some within this region and that unless and until women have access to the full range of reproductive health support, training and the system itself them we're not going to achieve that millenium development goal. So I think its got to be seen in that context.
Australia's Parliamentary Secretary for International Development Assistance, Bob McMullan, is in a difficult position. He's repeatedly spoken of the need to do everything possible to put developing countries on the right trajectory to achieve the millenium development goals. He is passionate about the rights of women and families. He even goes so far in public as to state his personal position on abortion generally.
McMULLEN: Its not the world's biggest secret that I'm one of the leading pro-choice advocates of the Parliament. That is not the world's biggest secret. So you can assume beyond that what you will. But my public position can only be the government's position. I don't have in my position as parliamentary secretary, I don't have two views, my own and the government's. I only have the government's.
MOTTRAM: What is clear is that both ministers, Stephen Smith and Bob McMullen, are expecting the issue to be hotly debated when their Party colleagues gather in Canberra shortly ahead of the new Parliamentary session.
