Campaign for Australian Aid calls for action following Government’s Global Goals pledge

Today, world leaders met at the United Nations Headquarters in New York to commit to a series of ambitious but achievable targets to end poverty, fight inequality and injustice, and tackle climate change by 2030.

The new goals build on the successful Millennium Development Goals (2000-2015) that helped remove barriers for millions of people to be free from poverty. 15 years ago, 27,000 children under five died from poverty-related causes every day, today this is 16,000 children a day.

“We’re calling on Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to make the 17 Global Goals a reality by using them to frame the policies and priorities for Australian aid,” said Executive Officer for the Campaign for Australian Aid, Tony Milne.

“Australia has the resources, technologies, knowledge and solutions to help create a better world. Endorsing the Global Goals is a great first step, now the Government must do its fair share to make them a reality.”

Mr Milne said Australia would need to align its aid policy to the new goals to ensure Australian aid supports people to realise their full potential - overcoming the barriers of extreme poverty and become economically self-reliant.

“A high priority should be lifting our Australian aid contribution from their historic lows following $11.3 billion of cuts,” Mr Milne said.

“As Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said last week, there has never been a better time to be Australian and being Australian means helping our neighbours.

By coming together now around the Global Goals we can continue the work of ending extreme poverty, fighting inequality and addressing climate change,” Mr Milne said.

“Progress is not inevitable. It will take a collective effort to achieve these new Global Goals. We all have a role to play and now, we’ve got a powerful set of benchmarks we can use to hold world leaders accountable for the next 15 years,” Mr Milne said.

Since 1990, child deaths and extreme poverty have been cut by more than half, proof that Global Goals are about more than just words. They’re about helping everyone around the world to gain the things we all want: to be able to provide for our families, to live in peace, to have control over our own lives and the capacity to leave our kids a better world.

For further information or to arrange an interview with Mr Milne or Tim Costello, co-chair of the Campaign and CEO of World Vision, please contact Sarah Cannata: 0407 536 133

About Campaign for Australian Aid

The Campaign for Australian Aid is a joint initiative of the Make Poverty History and Micah Challenge coalitions, for all Australians who believe we can and should do more as a nation to end extreme poverty around the world. It represents over 65 aid and development organisations, church, business and community groups.