Gillard 鈥榗ould do more鈥�
The Prime Minister鈥檚 World AIDS Day speech has won qualified praise from Australian national AIDS organizations.
In her address at the Sydney Opera House, Gillard noted the eradication of small pox two years prior to the discovery of AIDS, and hoped the same could one day be said about HIV.
鈥淟et us keep the light of hope burning in our hearts, until we can stand together, like Frank Fenner did with smallpox 30 years ago, and say the journey is over and the job is done,鈥� said Gillard, while pledging 鈥渕ore funding鈥� and stressing the need for universal access to treatment.
NAPWA executive director Jo Watson welcomed the statements on funding and access to treatment, but was concerned Gillard had not acknowledged the group most effected by HIV in Australia during her speech.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a worry about the political sensitivity attached to identifying this HIV population in this country when the bulk of transmissions are still figured very much among men who have sex with men,鈥� Watson told the Star Observer.
鈥淧eople in bureaucracies and at a political level seem to be shying away from that and that鈥檚 a real concern for all of us.鈥�
Watson said if Gillard was serious about access to treatment she could extend coverage to Australian residents who were Medicare ineligible without citizenship.
鈥淣APWA has for several years been requesting access to drugs for people who are not covered by Medicare,鈥� Watson said.
鈥淭oday in this country these people are not able to access a doctor, a service or get their HIV drugs while they are living with HIV … unless they want to purchase them at full price.鈥�
Watson said poverty among Australians living with HIV remained an issue too.
鈥淢any people in Australia are struggling to pay for their drugs even with Medicare coverage and co-payment subsidies. There is a real risk of these people delaying access to a doctor or service or filling their scripts because of those affordability issues,鈥� she said.
AFAO executive director Don Baxter said he would have liked the Prime Minister to acknowledge groups effected by HIV in Australia, but said it was significant that Gillard had been the first Australian Prime Minister to participate in a major AIDS event since Paul Keating.
Baxter praised the treatment and prevention work the Australian Government was already funding abroad as part of Ausaid, and Australia鈥檚 permanent representative to the UN taking on the responsibility of co-chairing a five year review of the global HIV program, but welcomed more funding.
鈥淲e鈥檝e come to the end of tether at the Commonwealth level in relation to HIV funding because we鈥檝e had Hepatitis C and STIs rolled in with it and this year we鈥檝e had Hepatitis B rolled in as well, but the actual envelope of money for that work hasn鈥檛 increased,鈥� Baxter said.
Unfortunatley the Australian Christian Lobby (that Gillard is seemingly controlled by on the issue of gay rights), would apparently prefer to promote the image of gays getting HIV & dying, rather than promoting strong monogamous relationships with the encouragment & societal support structure of full relationship equality. They not only want civil marriage equality banned, but also want all “images” promoting monogamous gay love & ceremonies out of sight & banned in all their forms- including banning the ceremony component in the ACT civil partnerships, banning ceremonies in VIC, and in NSW (state… the City of Sydney ones still stand), and banning any national ceremonies, and even a complete ban on any national register or anything at all that might “mimick marriage” – ie anything that shows gay monagamy or love & commmitment.
Of course everything is not that simple, but government-sponsored second class citizenship can be a factor in depression, gay-youth suicide, risk-taking behaviour, etc. – and the Australian Christian Lobby knows it! They don’t want to promote gay monagamy- just the opposite.
Julia should follow the lead of all those other countries that are falling like dominos & grant full equal rights for a level playing field. The roadblock of the “Aussie Banana Republic Christian Lobby” needs to be swept out of the way.