Mr TONY SMITH(5.37 p.m.) —I want to commend the honourable member for Reid (Mr Laurie Ferguson) on the speech he gave last night during the adjournment debate. He referred to child labour, which is occurring in a number of countries. I wholeheartedly support the efforts of the member for Reid in drawing the attention of this House to certain practices that are absolutely shocking—for example, children, some as young as three, being chained up and forced to put things in boxes and undergo labour, and children as young as 10 undergoing more difficult labour. So I commend the honourable member for Reid on drawing that matter to my attention and to that of the people of Australia.

On a related matter, I would like to talk about World Vision and foreign aid. I have had an association with World Vision through child sponsorship for about 20 years. Nothing can warm the heart more than sponsoring a child through World Vision, watching that child grow and keeping contact with that child through letters and regular photographs. You feel in a small way that you are contri buting. Again, I commend the practice of people in wealthier countries—and Australia is in that affluent group—assisting in that very direct and personal way.

A delegation from the Australian Council of Overseas Aid recently visited me and drew my attention to the fact that Australia's aid budget has been declining in recent years. It used to be around 0.5 per cent as a percentage of GNP in 1982-84, and at present it is hovering at about 0.35 per cent. All honourable members should think seriously about this question of foreign aid. There are really desperate situations out there in Third and Fourth World countries, and we must never forget that we are all part of the global community. We might say at times that we have problems, but think of a pregnant woman who is working right up to the moment of delivering a child. She is working in back-breaking work for something like $2 or $3 a day, and the child is born virtually in the midst of her labour.

We talk about the benefits of the wonderful health system that we have here. Yet when that child is born the mother uses a piece of grass to tie the umbilical cord. In that grass frequently there are tetanus spores. Looking at the conditions in which those people have to live and how easily diseases can be transmitted reinforces my view that we must give substantial commitment to overseas aid. We must ensure that moneys are channelled through the aid agencies.

Aid agencies, particularly aid agencies like World Vision, are closer to the ground. There is less chance of money dissipating and more chance that projects can be developed at a village level. It is of the essence to ensure that individual projects in these villages in the Third World are enhanced by the identifiable means which World Vision and other agencies have of picking particular projects, channelling the funds and raising the standard of living, even if this means just getting a well sunk or providing a pump, agriculture and seed. Developed at a village level, this is the way we can really help. We must all the time address ourselves to this need to maintain in real terms our foreign aid budget.