No hippie kissing required

Sorry, this post will not be asking you to:
Kiss a tree hugging, bead wearing, pot smoking hippie.
Lie in front of a 20 tonne bulldozer.
Chain yourself to a tree.

It will be asking you to do something crazy, zany and wild and that is talk to your friends and family and by doing this help solve the problem of poverty in the world. Just by talking.

The reason talking can solve this problem is because the aid has already been pledge for you twice, once as part of the Millennium Goals in the year 2000 and once in 1970 as part of a U.N resolution.

Our Government along with 21 others have pledge to donate 0.7% of the nation income to help alleviate poverty. Unfortunately Government have terrible memories and we need to remind them. So firstly just inform your friends and family and if you're feeling really game, send a quick email to your local Federal member asking what they are doing in regards to this unfulfilled pledge.

The pledge has actually grown in power since it was first made.

"We are in a position to end extreme poverty within our generation," Director of the UN Millennium Project Jeffrey D. Sachs

“The confluence of the 0.7 target and the Goals is an important one. As this report outlines, ours is the first generation in which the world can halve extreme poverty within the 0.7 envelope. In 1975, when the donor world economy was around half its current size, the Goals would have required much more than 1 percent of GNP from the donors. Today, after two and a half decades of sustained economic growth, the Goals are utterly affordable. No new promises are needed—only following through on commitments already made. “

"Developed countries that have not already done so should establish timetables to achieve the 0.7 per cent target of gross national income for official development assistance by no later than 2015, starting with significant increases no later than 2006 and reaching 0.5 per cent by 2009."
UN Secretary-General Kofi Anna (Cost Benefits)


and the current Government has taken a small step in the right direction.

“Australian Prime Minister John Howard announced a major new commitment to increase Australia's spending on aid to $4 billion by 2010. Oxfam Australia welcomed this increase but urged the Howard Government to also commit to meeting the UN target of giving 0.7 per cent of its national income in aid by 2015.

The increase in the aid budget from around $2.5 billion now to $4 billion in 2010 would only increase Australia's share of aid from the current level of 0.28 per cent of gross national income (GNI) to 0.36 per cent of GNI.
This would still leave Australia languishing in 18th place out of the 22 OECD donors in 2010. “
(Oxfam)



There is a broad spectrum of opinion on how much foreign aid our nation should give, but peoples opinion on delivering on our word, our promise as a nation and of fairness is quite united. The notion of fairness and a fair go has been part of the Australian mindset since our second Prime Minister, Alfred Deakin, instilled it into our culture over a century ago. And it is this fairness that comes into question on this issue.

The Australian Government, by its lack of action and leadership on this issue, is currently allowing a key part of our national identity to be tarnished. All we have to do to help on this pledge is to fulfill what it means to be Australian, to be fair and give people a fair go.

Further reading
Lots of pretty graphs