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25 August 2000
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AFTERNOON
HR/ESC/00/43
25 August 2000
COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS CONCLUDES REVIEW
OF THIRD PERIODIC REPORT OF AUSTRALIA
The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights this afternoon concluded its consideration of the third periodic report of Australia on how that country was complying with the guarantees and tenets embodied in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
An Australian Government delegation, in response to questions raised by the Committee's experts, detailed efforts on several issues, including the prosecution and treatment of cases of sexual assault and Government efforts to help the homeless.
The delegation said State and Territory governments were mostly responsible for prosecuting cases of sexual assaults on women and children, and providing support for the victims. In addition, the federal government had undertaken several measures on prevention.
Speaking specifically about the sexual abuse of children, delegates said that although latest available figures showed that it probably affected less than one-tenth of 1 per cent of the children in Australia, it was still a serious issue and of great concern to the Government. All State and Territory governments played a major role -- they were responsible for child protection. Each State and Territory had its own laws, while the federal government took a broader approach, focusing on prevention and treatment.
On the problem of homelessness in Australia, the delegation said Government spending on public housing had declined between 1989 and 1999, but the number of families that were helped had increased, as had the number of dwellings available. Further, it was difficult to accept the claims that the number of homeless were increasing because there were no reliable statistics available. The difficulty in obtaining numbers stemmed from the trouble with defining when someone was homeless.
Committee experts also asked the delegation about the Family Law Act; the practice of female genital mutilation; the gap between the rich and poor; children living in poverty; displacing people for the upcoming Olympics; programmes for adequate food and nutrition; Australia's efforts in international aid; the dropout rate for indigenous students; and the language barrier for home-based outworkers.
The Committee will meet in private next week to draft its concluding observations and recommendations on the reports of the five countries which it considered during this three-week session. Experts will release their conclusions on the reports of Jordan, Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan, Sudan and Australia next week.
Discussion
Answering questions from Committee experts, the delegation, speaking about sexual assaults on women and children, said State and Territory governments were mostly responsible for prosecuting cases of sexual assault, and providing support for the victims. In addition, the federal government had done extensive work on preventive measures.
Asked about the sexual abuse of children, the delegation said it was a serious issue and was of great concern to the Government. The latest available figures showed that it probably affected less than one-tenth of 1 per cent of children in Australia, and trends showed that it was not a growing problem. All State and Territory governments played a strong role -- they were responsible for child protection. Each State and Territory had its own laws. The federal government took a broader approach, focusing on prevention and treatment.
The delegation said the Family Law Act focused on the rights of children, and on the duties of the parents. Eliminating domestic violence was a high priority for the Australian Government, and many measures had been undertaken to combat the problem in several ways. The Commonwealth had provided 25 million Australian dollars over three years for these measures.
Asked about female genital mutilation, the delegation said Australia was a very diverse population. It was not a very large problem, statistically, in Australia, but there were many people who came from other cultures, and a few years ago a Government programme was set up to deal with female genital mutilation. It was illegal in Australia, and the Government was proactive in educating people about it. Services were offered to women and girls who were dealing with the problem.
Concerning the gap between the rich and poor in Australia, the delegation said it was the Government's belief that poverty was best overcome through continued economic growth. Unemployment was decreasing, and the Government still provided a safety net for those in need. Expenditure on welfare programmes was increasing by 11 per cent, and most of this would go to women and children.
Responding to reports that 23 per cent of Australian children lived under the poverty line, the delegation said poverty was a problem and a top concern of the Government. The claim of 23 per cent was based on a measure the authors themselves dismissed as dubious. The method of updating the poverty line meant that the poverty line was at a level of 57.6 per cent of average incomes. The OSCE study showed child poverty levels at about half of the 23 per cent claim. The Government knew it still had work to do, but the estimate put in front of the Committee was not right.
The delegation, asked about assistance for the homeless, said in real terms, between 1989 and 1999, total outlays in public housing declined by 13 per cent. Despite this decrease, the number of families helped had increased from 422,600 to 433,100. And the number of dwellings had also increased. It was difficult to accept claims of the increasing number of homeless persons, because there were no reliable statistics. The difficulty in obtaining numbers stemmed from the trouble with defining when someone was homeless.
The Government would be sponsoring a forum in October, the delegation said, to attempt to arrive at an agreement on the number of the homeless. Studies in the past had shown conflicting numbers. One study showed there were 105,000 homeless, another study indicated there were 53,000. The Government knew that homelessness stemmed from more than a lack of accommodation. There were many social problems, and the Government had implemented numerous preventive programmes to help combat the problem before people became homeless.
Asked about the effect the Sydney Olympics had on adequate housing, the delegation said there was no evidence that people in the vicinity of sporting venues had had their housing rights impeded. The venues were constructed on formerly vacant lots or Government land, and houses were not taken down and families were not displaced. To assist people in need, the New South Wales Government would operate a 24-hour call centre to help find the most suitable housing for the homeless.
Referencing the issue of forced evictions in Redfern, the delegation said 43 households were scheduled to be relocated by the Government of New South Wales.
Concerning the status of particular groups with relation to hunger, the delegation said there were a number of Government initiatives relating to nutrition. Australia's long-standing policy that an income should be supplied to any persons who could not support themselves ensured that people could afford to buy adequate food. There were income allowances, and supplementary payments for families with children.
Asked to describe Australia's efforts in international assistance and cooperation, the delegation said the country would donate 1.6 billion Australian dollars to help with sustainable development. Australia's aid programme focused on five priority areas: health, education, infrastructure, governance, and rural development. Australia supported the United Nations 0.7 per cent target, and would contribute as its economy allowed. Australia had borne a large burden during the East Timor crisis, totalling about 120 million Australian dollars, and that did not include the considerable military presence Australia provided as well.
The delegation said the high dropout rate was caused by a number of factors. If the children did not become literate in the first few years, the students were almost sure to drop out. Another problem was school attendance -- Aboriginal attendance rates were much lower than non-Aboriginal rates. A Government programme was targeting both factors. There was another programme that allowed bilingual education and which allowed children to learn in their mother tongue.
Asked about why the Aboriginal population had such a poor education record, the delegation said only 3 per cent of the Aboriginal population today had never been to school. And the number of Aboriginal students in higher education had tripled in the last 20 years. That led to job opportunities. But many did not complete their higher education and that was one of the reasons for the high Aboriginal unemployment rate. The other one was location. There were regions, where many Aboriginal people lived, where there were not many jobs available.
Asked about the difficulties home-based outworkers had accessing information, the delegation said there was a programme to provide a multi-lingual help line for home-based outworkers, who generally were not able to speak English. Forty per cent of people were from overseas or had a parent from overseas, so there were many multi-lingual programmes available. New migrants had access to intensive language classes. There was also a service that provided telephone interpreting services, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. That service was free to everyone.
* *** *
HR/ESC/00/43
25 August 2000
COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS CONCLUDES REVIEW
OF THIRD PERIODIC REPORT OF AUSTRALIA
The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights this afternoon concluded its consideration of the third periodic report of Australia on how that country was complying with the guarantees and tenets embodied in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
An Australian Government delegation, in response to questions raised by the Committee's experts, detailed efforts on several issues, including the prosecution and treatment of cases of sexual assault and Government efforts to help the homeless.
The delegation said State and Territory governments were mostly responsible for prosecuting cases of sexual assaults on women and children, and providing support for the victims. In addition, the federal government had undertaken several measures on prevention.
Speaking specifically about the sexual abuse of children, delegates said that although latest available figures showed that it probably affected less than one-tenth of 1 per cent of the children in Australia, it was still a serious issue and of great concern to the Government. All State and Territory governments played a major role -- they were responsible for child protection. Each State and Territory had its own laws, while the federal government took a broader approach, focusing on prevention and treatment.
On the problem of homelessness in Australia, the delegation said Government spending on public housing had declined between 1989 and 1999, but the number of families that were helped had increased, as had the number of dwellings available. Further, it was difficult to accept the claims that the number of homeless were increasing because there were no reliable statistics available. The difficulty in obtaining numbers stemmed from the trouble with defining when someone was homeless.
Committee experts also asked the delegation about the Family Law Act; the practice of female genital mutilation; the gap between the rich and poor; children living in poverty; displacing people for the upcoming Olympics; programmes for adequate food and nutrition; Australia's efforts in international aid; the dropout rate for indigenous students; and the language barrier for home-based outworkers.
The Committee will meet in private next week to draft its concluding observations and recommendations on the reports of the five countries which it considered during this three-week session. Experts will release their conclusions on the reports of Jordan, Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan, Sudan and Australia next week.
Discussion
Answering questions from Committee experts, the delegation, speaking about sexual assaults on women and children, said State and Territory governments were mostly responsible for prosecuting cases of sexual assault, and providing support for the victims. In addition, the federal government had done extensive work on preventive measures.
Asked about the sexual abuse of children, the delegation said it was a serious issue and was of great concern to the Government. The latest available figures showed that it probably affected less than one-tenth of 1 per cent of children in Australia, and trends showed that it was not a growing problem. All State and Territory governments played a strong role -- they were responsible for child protection. Each State and Territory had its own laws. The federal government took a broader approach, focusing on prevention and treatment.
The delegation said the Family Law Act focused on the rights of children, and on the duties of the parents. Eliminating domestic violence was a high priority for the Australian Government, and many measures had been undertaken to combat the problem in several ways. The Commonwealth had provided 25 million Australian dollars over three years for these measures.
Asked about female genital mutilation, the delegation said Australia was a very diverse population. It was not a very large problem, statistically, in Australia, but there were many people who came from other cultures, and a few years ago a Government programme was set up to deal with female genital mutilation. It was illegal in Australia, and the Government was proactive in educating people about it. Services were offered to women and girls who were dealing with the problem.
Concerning the gap between the rich and poor in Australia, the delegation said it was the Government's belief that poverty was best overcome through continued economic growth. Unemployment was decreasing, and the Government still provided a safety net for those in need. Expenditure on welfare programmes was increasing by 11 per cent, and most of this would go to women and children.
Responding to reports that 23 per cent of Australian children lived under the poverty line, the delegation said poverty was a problem and a top concern of the Government. The claim of 23 per cent was based on a measure the authors themselves dismissed as dubious. The method of updating the poverty line meant that the poverty line was at a level of 57.6 per cent of average incomes. The OSCE study showed child poverty levels at about half of the 23 per cent claim. The Government knew it still had work to do, but the estimate put in front of the Committee was not right.
The delegation, asked about assistance for the homeless, said in real terms, between 1989 and 1999, total outlays in public housing declined by 13 per cent. Despite this decrease, the number of families helped had increased from 422,600 to 433,100. And the number of dwellings had also increased. It was difficult to accept claims of the increasing number of homeless persons, because there were no reliable statistics. The difficulty in obtaining numbers stemmed from the trouble with defining when someone was homeless.
The Government would be sponsoring a forum in October, the delegation said, to attempt to arrive at an agreement on the number of the homeless. Studies in the past had shown conflicting numbers. One study showed there were 105,000 homeless, another study indicated there were 53,000. The Government knew that homelessness stemmed from more than a lack of accommodation. There were many social problems, and the Government had implemented numerous preventive programmes to help combat the problem before people became homeless.
Asked about the effect the Sydney Olympics had on adequate housing, the delegation said there was no evidence that people in the vicinity of sporting venues had had their housing rights impeded. The venues were constructed on formerly vacant lots or Government land, and houses were not taken down and families were not displaced. To assist people in need, the New South Wales Government would operate a 24-hour call centre to help find the most suitable housing for the homeless.
Referencing the issue of forced evictions in Redfern, the delegation said 43 households were scheduled to be relocated by the Government of New South Wales.
Concerning the status of particular groups with relation to hunger, the delegation said there were a number of Government initiatives relating to nutrition. Australia's long-standing policy that an income should be supplied to any persons who could not support themselves ensured that people could afford to buy adequate food. There were income allowances, and supplementary payments for families with children.
Asked to describe Australia's efforts in international assistance and cooperation, the delegation said the country would donate 1.6 billion Australian dollars to help with sustainable development. Australia's aid programme focused on five priority areas: health, education, infrastructure, governance, and rural development. Australia supported the United Nations 0.7 per cent target, and would contribute as its economy allowed. Australia had borne a large burden during the East Timor crisis, totalling about 120 million Australian dollars, and that did not include the considerable military presence Australia provided as well.
The delegation said the high dropout rate was caused by a number of factors. If the children did not become literate in the first few years, the students were almost sure to drop out. Another problem was school attendance -- Aboriginal attendance rates were much lower than non-Aboriginal rates. A Government programme was targeting both factors. There was another programme that allowed bilingual education and which allowed children to learn in their mother tongue.
Asked about why the Aboriginal population had such a poor education record, the delegation said only 3 per cent of the Aboriginal population today had never been to school. And the number of Aboriginal students in higher education had tripled in the last 20 years. That led to job opportunities. But many did not complete their higher education and that was one of the reasons for the high Aboriginal unemployment rate. The other one was location. There were regions, where many Aboriginal people lived, where there were not many jobs available.
Asked about the difficulties home-based outworkers had accessing information, the delegation said there was a programme to provide a multi-lingual help line for home-based outworkers, who generally were not able to speak English. Forty per cent of people were from overseas or had a parent from overseas, so there were many multi-lingual programmes available. New migrants had access to intensive language classes. There was also a service that provided telephone interpreting services, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. That service was free to everyone.
* *** *