Senator STOTT DESPOJA(12.42 p.m.) —I rise briefly to speak to the International Monetary Agreements Amendment Bill 1997 . I am following on from some of the comments made by my colleague Senator Bourne. The Democrats support the concept that growth should be sustainable, equitable and just. Therefore, we will be supporting the amendments put forward by Senator Margetts, which are directed at taking into account factors far broader than the financial straitjackets of financially powerful nations. I want to reiterate these concerns and also highlight in particular the position of young people as elements of this debate.

For many of the world's young people, the realisation of economic, social and cultural rights are very distant and, in fact, becoming increasingly distant. Approximately one billion people live in absolute poverty and around 180 million young people suffer from serious malnutrition. The trend is for these numbers to increase. They represent personal, family and community tragedies.

Institutions such as the IMF have a world focus with an infrastructure which can be directed towards realising economic, social and cultural rights. The structural adjustment packages did include a social safety net in an attempt to offset the adverse effects of adjustment and give these packages a human face. These measures were welcome but they did not recognise the influence of international trade and financial concerns on domestic policy and the detrimental effect on basic human rights and, specifically, economic, cultural and social rights.

Further, the IMF is driven by economic theory rather than the real experience of humans, politicians, communities and economies. As Senator Bourne said earlier in this debate, this money requires privatisation, tax reductions and the lifting of restrictions on the supply of offshore currency. I am concerned about these issues in Australia but I am particularly concerned about imposing these issues on other nations.

The economic meddling of today has a significant impact on the lives of young people, both now and, of course, in the future. The 180 million young people suffering from malnutrition are not to be ignored. Our social structures need to be changed to address this injustice and we need to include these people in our economic horizons. For this reason, I do support the inclusion of social justice criteria in loaning money. The criteria are directed towards an approach consistent with Australia's commitment to the International Bill of Human Rights, the Tokyo Declaration of the World Commission on Environment and Development and the Final Report on the Realisation of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

Balancing our obligations under these international agreements and the positive outcomes from loaning money to nations has great potential for a fairer and more just world. I therefore commend the amendments before us to the chamber as a recognition of social justice for the future of young people around the world.