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Faith in politics
By Tim Costello, CEO World Vision Australia
It was no accident that when both major political parties were invited to participate in a live web cast to some 700 churches across the country, both the Prime Minister, John Howard, and Opposition leader, Kevin Rudd, chose to appear themselves – rather than delegating the opportunity.
The importance with which both leaders treated the ‘faith vote’ is not simply reflective of a looming election that will be hard fought. It is also recognition of the growing emergence of believers as a major influence in Australian politics.
Indeed both political leaders have spoken about their own faith.
Howard has promoted family values and private morality through policies relating to family law, taxation, health and education. Rudd, who describes himself as a Christian social democrat, has indicated that he supports values of justice, equality and compassion for the vulnerable and maintains that these values should shape government policy.
For many Australians talk of religious faith in the political domain is all too scary and too American. Does it not blur the church-state separation boundaries? Will it create an Australian religious right? But believers have every right to participate in the democratic process and are justified in seeking out policies that are moral and reflective of their Christian faith.
When it comes to what concerns the heart of God the Bible has some 3000 verses urging us to care for the poor and marginalised. Surely we must ensure that religious faith in this nation’s politics creates a fairer and more compassionate society rather than a self-centred, exclusive one.
To me, budgets are ‘moral’ documents and reflect much about the state of a government. If we ever have an opportunity to be just and generous to those less fortunate, now is the time after Australia has enjoyed a decade of billion-dollar budget surpluses.
And I strongly believe that we cannot simply limit our compassion to within our own boarders. When we ask ‘who is our neighbour?’ how can we ignore the millions of people in our Asia Pacific region that are suffering in poverty?
That is why it is so heartening to me that in the lead up to this Federal election, issues of global poverty are playing a significant part in influencing how many Australians will vote. It is inspiring that so many in the faith community in Australia have pledged their support to the Micah Challenge to make poverty history. This is a church-led movement for change.
Assessing the global policies of Australia’s political parties
While domestically there is no shortage of information for voters to assess the major parties in the lead up to the Federal election, making such judgements about Australia’s performance internationally can be more difficult.
The fact is while the Australian Government likes to present itself as a leader in its giving to overseas aid, we are in fact languishing at 15th out of 22 of the world’s richest nations in our giving.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Alexander Downer, told the parliament on August 10, 2005 that: "Australia supports the UN target of 0.7 per cent ratio of Official Development Assistance to Gross National Income (GNI)”.
Yet Australia’s level of overseas aid remains at 0.3% of GNI and even with the Federal Government’s promise to ‘double aid’ by 2010 to $4 billion, this increase will actually only return us to around 0.34% of GNI, close to the level of giving in 1996.
So far neither the government nor the opposition has pledged to boost overseas aid to 0.7% of GNI by 2015 in order to fulfill our international commitments as part of the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals – the world’s blueprint to halve global poverty.
Yet Labor has pledged to boost aid spending to 0.5% of GNI by 2015 – which is the minimum that is required from Australia to do its share – and that is a step in the right direction. It is our hope that both the government and the opposition will take concrete steps to show how seriously they are tackling the blight of poverty in our world today.
Global climate change, health care and trade
It is also concerning that none of the parties have yet announced that they are prepared to provide the kind of funding needed to help developing countries withstand the catastrophic impact of climate change.
These are the people that will be most affected by shifts in our climate patterns, by longer and harsher droughts, by more frequent flooding and by disappearing shorelines. Millions of people will be left homeless, or worse, if we don’t help them prepare now.
It is also distressing that no party is adequately addressing basic healthcare by committing adequate funding. Last year 460,000 children under the age of five died in our own region – that’s almost 500,000 children we could have helped by providing extra funding. Adequate immunisation programs alone could help save around 100,000 children a year.
Australia has championed efforts to reform international trade in a way that will help poor nations and this is to our credit. There is much as a nation we can be proud of. But we as a nation could do so much more.
I believe this generation has an opportunity like none before it, an opportunity to eradicate extreme poverty in our world. It is an opportunity too important not to seize. And this year’s Federal election is a critical time to make your voice be heard. Together, we can make poverty history.
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