Miserly Australia tumbles down global generosity table

West Australian

01-05-2025

The development sector has been dismayed by the coalition's pledge to cut foreign aid, which would see Australia tumble further down the ranks of global generosity.
On Thursday, the coalition announced it would axe $813 million in planned development assistance over the next four years.
The Pacific will be ring-fenced from any cuts.
The aid downgrade was widely expected in the sector, given Peter Dutton had been non-committal on questions about possible savings during the election campaign.
At a time of geopolitical tumult, Australian Council for International Development chief executive Matthew Maury said any cuts to aid would make Australia "a less reliable global partner".
"At a time when the world is facing huge global challenges, we urge the coalition to consider the bipartisan commitment to aid that has cemented Australia's standing in our region over decades," he said.
Earlier this week, the coalition offered increased spending to the Pacific in one key area: infrastructure.
Should Mr Dutton's party form government after Saturday's election, the coalition would lift infrastructure funding - through grants and loans - by $2 billion.
ACFID questioned the priority on infrastructure, saying "most Pacific states cannot afford expensive loans".
"The net result of the coalition's election announcements will impact millions of the world's most vulnerable facing rising hunger, conflict, disease and climate disasters," Mr Maury said.
The coalition made savage cuts to foreign aid the last time it won government from Labor, under Tony Abbott.
Since taking office in 2022, Anthony Albanese's Labor government has increased foreign aid each year, but at a slower rate than Australian prosperity has grown.
As a share of gross national income (GNI), Australia spends 0.19 per cent on aid - ranking it 28th of 32 developed nations. On that measure, just four nations spend less: Czech Republic, Greece, Slovakia and Hungary.
A decade earlier, Australia spent 0.31 per cent of GNI, and was ranked 13th.
Mr Maury said both major parties had an obligation to lift spending to support some of the world's poorest nations, calling on aid to all candidates to make aid at least one per cent of the budget, up from 0.68 per cent.
"The aid budget is already at a historic low," he said.
"With the challenges facing Australia and the whole world now is the worst time to be pulling back and making further cuts."