Three in One

ONE:  July has been a big month for Launceston RESULTS.

We kicked off with a visit to our local Labor MP Mr. Dick Adams on July 4. Warm, engaging and positive, Mr. Adams was eager to share his concerns for global poverty with us. He affirmed our disappointment regarding the Federal Budget and talked about his involvement with the Inter-Parliamentary Union. A recent trip to Uganda highlighted a number of global issues for him, namely the recent famine in Somalia and the ongoing food crisis throughout West Africa. 

We informed Mr. Adams of the World Bank's commitment to increase education funding by $750 million by 2015 and alerted him to the recent drop in funding levels! Mr Adams agreed to email Australia's Executive Director, Mr. John Whitehead, to relay his concerns. However, there has been no confirmation of him having done so to date.

The night after our MP visit, we held our monthly meeting and made a plan to host a 'Dinner for 16' on July 16.

TWO: A few days later, on July 12, two of our members met with a Liberal candidate for Federal Parliament Mr. Andrew Nikolic. Quick, articulate and measured, Mr. Nikolic was eager to tell us about his 30 years of experience with the Australian Defence Force and his leading role in Iraq and Afghanistan. He views the role of the military as vital in securing a stable environment for development in conflict situations.

We asked Mr. Nikolic to speak to his party members regarding the Federal Budget, requesting that they release a time frame for meeting 0.5% of GNI. Although he was well aware of the issue, he said that the Opposition cannot make any promises because it does not and will not know the true fiscal situation until after the election.

Mr. Nikolic was unaware of the situation with the World Bank and agreed to write Mr. John Whitehead an email. On July 21, we received confirmation that he had done so. Thank you Mr. Nikolic!

THREE:  Then Monday night, July 16, our group hosted a Dinner for 16!! It was held in the family home of one of our members and catered by the group. We ran a MDG quiz with prizes relating to the 8 goals. One dinner guest was the lucky winner of a face mask (goal 6), another went home with a new scarf (goal 3) and another left with an empty pottery bowl (goal 1). We screened the film 'Caught in the Cycle of Poverty' and shared the story of RESULTS with our guests. It was great to hear what our guests are already doing to help eradicate poverty and generate some fresh interest in RESULTS.