NEWS: Australian Senate passes motion of support for IPNEd
Parliament House, Canberra, Australia
On 18 March 2021, the Australian Senate passed a motion of support for the International Parliamentary Network for Education. The motion, which was passed unanimously, was brought by IPNEd Regional Representative for Oceania, Senator Deborah O’Neill, and commits the Senate to supporting the work of IPNEd and the realisation of Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4).
In a statement via Twitter, Senator O’Neill announced the passage of the motion:
“A good education system is the bedrock of any healthy society. IPNEd is critical to ensure this goal is reached globally.”
Senator O’Neill, who is also Co-Chair of the Australian Parliamentary Friends of Education Group, alongside IPNEd member Hon. Kevin Andrews MP, was appointed to the IPNEd Global Executive Committee in November 2020, having been a powerful advocate for education throughout her career.
As the only global parliamentary network dedicated to education, IPNEd seeks to mobilise sustained political leadership for global education across the world.
The Network works with individual parliamentarians along with groups of parliamentarians at the national, regional and global levels - the support of parliamentary institutions, as demonstrated in the Australian Senate, is a powerful enabler to empower parliamentarians to champion education at each of these levels.
IPNEd Executive Director, Joseph Nhan-O’Reilly, said of the motion:
“It is fantastic to see the leadership shown by Senator O’Neill and her colleagues in the Australian Senate. The COVID-19 crisis has further exposed and exacerbated pre-existing education disparities across the world and demonstrated the crucial urgency for parliamentarians to work together nationally and internationally to protect education.”
As the world undertakes the uncertain path of recovery from COVID-19, it is vital that parliamentarians affirm their support for education, not only as a fundamental human right but as an essential building block and driver of progress across all 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
The motion brought by Senator O’Neill moves that the Senate:
notes that education is a fundamental human right;
welcomes the commitment embodied in Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4): Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all;
acknowledges that the world is decades behind in delivering SDG 4, and the long-lasting impact of COVID-19 on learning is an immense risk to delivering the promise envisioned in Agenda 2030 of leaving no one behind; and
commits to achieving the goals outlined in the Founding Declaration of the International Parliamentary Network for Education:
higher total and better financing for education, ensuring that spending is efficient, accountable and in line with the SDG 4,
prioritisation of the furthest behind, so that no child is denied their right to education simply because of who they are or where they live, and
higher-quality education which delivers learning outcomes.
Parliamentarians across the world are invited to join the Network by affirming their support for IPNEd’s Founding Declaration. MPs can affirm their support for the Declaration by contacting the IPNEd Secretariat at info@ipned.org or via the Join the Network website page.
