https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-08/ ... s/12638942Former foreign minister Julie Bishop has labelled the Coalition's foreign aid cuts "regrettable," warning they will undermine Australia's influence in the South Pacific.
The Abbott government cut foreign aid from around $5 billion in 2014 to just above $4 billion.
Since then the aid budget has largely flat-lined, with more money being funnelled to Pacific Island nations while several programs in other parts of the world have been abolished or pruned back.
Julie Bishop mounted internal battles to protect the aid budget — including in 2014 when she confronted cabinet colleagues about leaked plans to cut aid to help fund military deployments in the Middle East.
Now she has written an op-ed for the consultancy Palladium arguing the cuts "sent mixed messages about Australia's commitment as a partner" in the region.
"Many development partnerships are based on long-term goals of supporting communities to lift themselves out of poverty and certainty of funding over many years is crucial to success," she wrote in the piece.
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The coronavirus pandemic is now radically reshaping Australia's aid budget, with large amounts of money being repurposed to help countries in the region battle COVID-19.
Australia has also promised $80 million towards an international push to provide developing nations with an affordable COVID-19 vaccine, and observers expect the budget will include major commitments to help South-East Asia recover from the pandemic.
Australia's aid cuts
World Vision claims Australia's foreign aid budget has been cut for five years running. It is correct.
Aid groups have been pressing the Government to boost the aid budget rather than funding new initiatives by simply cutting money from existing programs.
Recent polling by YouGov showed around 60 per cent of Australians would support boosting aid to developing nations to help them fight coronavirus.
Labor says the cuts have undermined Australia's strategic objectives, although it has not yet said how much it would boost aid should it win power.
Our economy is in tatters and 60% of Aussies want to boost foreign aid? I don't think so!
If Labor run on boosting foreign aid in the next election hopefully it will be as well received as their "gender commission" brainstorm was in 2019.