An Essential Research poll out today revealed 44% of people think the Government invests too much in Australian aid, however most people who say this also significantly overestimate how much we actually invest.

After the latest round of budget cuts aid will be at its lowest level ever at just 0.9% of total government expenditure.  However, many respondents thought the Government invests 5% or more of its budget in Australian aid. The majority of respondents (39%) who knew how much Australia invests in life-saving aid felt that this was not enough.

“This poll tells us that when people are well-informed about the true level of aid they are more likely to support an increase to aid.  We must do more to celebrate how small yet powerful Australian aid really is. It’s one of the best returns on investment in supporting peace, stability and future prosperity for everyone in our region,” said Tony Milne, Executive Officer of Make Poverty History.

“Our campaign is about celebrating the incredible difference Australian aid makes in ending extreme poverty and building a fairer future for all. Through Australian aid we have made a real difference in the lives of millions of men, women and children by removing barriers to their own development and independence. We’ve helped give people access to clean water, better health care and an opportunity for an education. It’s something all Australians should be immensely proud of,” Mr Milne said.

The $1bn cut to Australian aid this year makes us the least generous we have ever been. That’s not the kind of people we are and a movement of 61,000 passionate Australians have already signed on to support Australian aid since the campaign began in February.

Australian aid is about giving people living in poor communities a fair go because that’s what we do as Australians.

END

Media Contact:
Tony Milne – Phone: 0435 932 391
Campaign for Australian Aid is a joint initiative of the Make Poverty History and Micah Challenge coalitions for all Australians who believe we can and should do more as a nation to end extreme poverty around the world. The Campaign for Australian Aid is backed by over 60 partners across the Australian development sector.

Charlie Pickering @charliepick unpacks the debate on #Australianaid and aid cuts…
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Lowy Institute today released a poll that Politicians ignore at their own peril as they head towards the next election. It reveals some news that might make the Government nervous – a significant 42 per cent of people aged 18-29 oppose cuts to the aid budget.

This finding echoes a Galaxy Poll conducted earlier this year by the Campaign for Australian Aid which showed a majority of Australians believe aid will be an important factor in their decision of how to vote at the next federal election.

A greater proportion of Gen Y respondents (63 per cent) said Australian aid will be an important voting issue in the upcoming Federal election.  43 per cent of Gen Y respondents also said the level of Australian aid should increase.

“These polls show that young Australians are global citizens who are concerned about Australia’s place in the world and the important role Australian aid plays in ending extreme poverty and building a fairer future for all”, said Tony Milne, Executive Officer of Make Poverty History.

“Young people want a bigger Australia not a smaller one. Australia’s future and a fairer world are interlinked. Australian aid is about partnering with our global neighbours to remove barriers to their development and create a brighter tomorrow for everyone.”

The $1bn cut to Australian aid this year made us the least generous we have ever been. A movement is building in the lead up to the federal election. Over 61,000 passionate Australians have already signed on to a campaign since it began in February.

The growing number of people defending aid will increase their campaigning efforts across the country in the lead up to polling day. Australian aid is about giving people living in poor communities a fair go because that’s what we do as Australians.

END

Media Contact:
Tony Milne – Phone: 0435 932 391

Campaign for Australian Aid is a joint initiative of the Make Poverty History and Micah Challenge coalitions for all Australians who believe we can and should do more as a nation to end extreme poverty around the world.

You can submit online here: http://www.alp.org.au/2015_draft_national_platform

It would be helpful if you could let us know if you’ve submitted so that we can keep a tally.  E-mail mph@makepovertyhistory.com.au

Possible points for your submission:

1. We commend Labor for having a comprehensive policy on Australian aid and international development.
2. We commend Labor for its recognition that the fundamental purpose of Australian aid is to reduce poverty and inequality, promoting sustainable development and protecting human rights.
3. We commend Labor for its support of the Sustainable Development Goals and urge Labor to actively promote the implementation and financing of the Goals.
4. We urge Labor to commit to achieving a funding target for the aid program of 0.7% of Gross National Income by 2030, commensurate with the Sustainable Development Goals.
5. We urge Labor to make a more specific short-term commitment to restore the Australian aid budget to $5.5 billion during the life of the next parliament (2016-2019).
6. We encourage Labor in Government to ensure Australian aid focuses on where there is greatest need, particularly in our greater region and where our aid can make the most difference.
7. We encourage Labor in Government to ensure our aid program reduces inequality by targeting the poorest 40 percent of people in developing countries – including disadvantaged groups such as women and girls, people with a disability, indigenous peoples and other marginalised groups.
8. We encourage Labor in Government to commit to:
   • Establishing an independent Office of Development Effectiveness to evaluate the effectiveness of Australia’s aid program
   • Providing a mechanism for reporting to parliament on:
     • the achievement of the purpose of the aid program
     • the effectiveness of the program
     • progress towards reaching the target for size of the aid program
     • any reduction in the aid program from the previous year’s budget.
   • Publishing an ODA Budget Statement covering country and thematic aid allocations annually with the May Federal Budget.

Full document is here.  Australian Aid section is from page 209. https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/australianlaborparty/pages/2403/attachments/original/1430796114/2015_Consultation_Draft_Labor_National_Platform_1_.pdf

A collection of recent articles on the cuts to #AusAid and the campaign to #saveAustralianAid
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Australia aid cuts ‘jerk around’ Marshall Islands and hit development
The latest round of ‘reprioritised’ funding announced by Australian treasurer Joe Hockey has been roundly criticised by the Pacific nation’s foreign minister
Karl Mathiesen
January 8 2015

Breaking faith with foreign aid partners is unkindest cut
On top of the $7.6 billion in cuts to aid since it came into office, the Abbott government will take a further $3.7 billion out over the next four years.
Barbara Deutschmann
January 4, 2015

In 2016/17 aid will be 33% less than it was relative to 2012/13.

2) The least generous we’ve ever been

By 2017/18 Australian aid will be 0.22% of Gross National Income, down from 0.34% in 2012/13 and the lowest it’s ever been.

3) We’ll be spending just 22 cents out of every $100 we earn

Imagine our GNI is 10,000 supporters at a football match. Our aid contribution will be just 22 of those 10,000 football supporters.

4) We’ve never been further from keeping our promise of 0.7%

0.7 refers to the repeated commitment of the world’s governments (including Australia) to commit 0.7% of rich-countries’ GNI to Official Development Assistance. First pledged 44 years ago in a 1970 General Assembly Resolution, the 0.7 target has been affirmed in many international agreements over the years.

5) Australian won’t be pulling its weight compared with other nations

By 2016 Australia will be one of the least generous developed countries in the OECD – falling from 13 out of 28 countries to 19.  We are likely to then rank below almost every Western European country, Canada and New Zealand.

6) The human impact will be devastating

These cuts will substantially impact millions of people who rely on Australia’s assistance to move from poverty to opportunity.  Given the measured impact of Australian aid in 2013-14, they could result in all the following impacts:

• 1.4 million children could be born without a birth attendant, and
• 2.2 million children may not get to enrol in school, and
• 3.7 million children may not be vaccinated, and
• 4.7 million people may not get access to safe water, and
• 21.9 million people in emergency situations may go unassisted, and
• significant loss of impact in other areas of aid.

7) It will be more difficult to respond to disasters such as the Boxing Day Tsunami

The cuts to aid diminishes our capacity to respond to major emergencies such as the Boxing Day Tsunami in 2004.  Last year Australia responded to emergencies in 24 countries including Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines and flooding in Solomon Islands, and gave life-saving assistance to 13.7 million people.

8) It could make Australia less safe

The 0.7 target has been recognised as a vital step towards promoting international and national security and stability. For example, the Report of the Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on Threats, Challenges, and Change.

9) It could weaken our economy and job creation

Aid plays a role in economic transformation and helping nations to transform into sustainable economies.  Countries that were once aid recipients are now major trading partners for Australia – helping generate jobs and income here in Australia.

10) It will weaken our position on the world stage

Australian aid is one of our greatest national accomplishments. Cutting aid substantially damages Australia’s image as an influential middle power on the world stage.

11) Aid is working

In the last 20 years, humanity has made great progress in shaping a more just world. For example, in 1990, an estimated 12.7 million children around the world died before age 5. In 2013, the figure was 6.3 million. That is 6.4 million fewer deaths each year or a halving in child deaths.  About half of these gains came from reductions in pneumonia, diarrhea and measles — diseases addressed by vaccination and other cost effective strategies.

JOIN the campaign to Save Australian Aid:  http://save.australianaid.org

1-5 – Source:  http://devpolicy.org/biggest-aid-cuts-ever-produce-our-least-generous-aid-budget-ever-20141215-2/

6 – Source: These figures are based on the Australian Government’s summary of its recent aid impact from Appendix 5 of the the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Annual Report 2013 – 2014. Our calculations take into account likely effects of inflation and a drop in the USD/AUD exchange rate over the next four years.

7 – Source: http://www.dfat.gov.au/dept/annual_reports/13-14/html/section-4-appendixes/appendix-5-aid-performance.html and http://www.dfat.gov.au/dept/annual_reports/13-14/html/section-2-performance-reporting/outcome-1/australian-aid-program/program-110-oda-emergency-humanitarian-and-refugee-program.html

11 – Source: http://www.childmortality.org/ and  http://wapo.st/1zDpTbo

Australian aid has now sunk to its lowest levels on record with the government slashing aid by $3.7 billion, increasing the total cuts in just over a year to more than $11 billion.

This money could have provided more than 1.5 million infants with life-saving vaccinations, more than 800,000 children with an education, more than 1.8 million people with clean water, more than 500,000 mothers with safe births, and more than 8 million people fleeing conflict roofs over their heads and life saving assistance.

At the present time things look bad but we are not giving up. We have started the campaign for Australian Aid and we are calling all concerned citizens to get a on board and rebuild the movement to get Australia back on track to giving its fair share.

Click here to join the campaign. http://www.australianaid.org

The Government is on the brink of announcing a third cut to Australian aid in its first term.

We’re concerned the Government hasn’t yet got the message so we’re going to take the message direct to the Treasurer. Australians don’t want aid cut.

If we can raise $3500 together, we can park a mobile billboard right outside the Treasurer’s office with a clear message: Enough is Enough – Don’t Cut Aid.

Can you support us today to help take the message direct to Joe Hockey?

More than 20% of budget savings have already come from the aid program, which is only 1.3% of the federal budget. Further cuts to aid will hurt the world’s most promising people.

As Australians, we’re proud of the work we do with communities across our region and the world to reduce poverty and to create a fairer world.

Last year the Australian aid program enabled over 1.3 million more children to enrol in school, built more than 9,000 new classrooms, and trained over 100,000 teachers.

Cuts to Australian aid mean these kinds of programmes will be downsized or cut.

Support us right now to ensure the Treasurer gets the message.

Thank you for taking action today.

Warm regards,

Tony Milne
Executive Officer
Make Poverty History

We need to speak out right now.

Our Government has been unable to get its budget cuts through the Senate.

Instead they want to go after the aid budget because they don’t believe Australian aid has public support.

But we know that aid transforms lives. In the past year alone we responded to emergencies in 24 countries including Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines and flooding in Solomon Islands, and gave life-saving assistance to 10.2 million people.

Send a message to Joe Hockey, Mathias Cormann and Tony Abbott – Don’t Cut Aid.

I'm proud of Australian aid. Keep your promise @JoeHockey @TonyAbbottMHR @MathiasCormann #DontCutAid
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And visit our Facebook Page to share our update on your wall.

Ebola. The 2005 Pacific Tsunami. The Syrian refugee crisis. Australians have always stood up on the world stage to play our part to tackle the worlds most challenging issues.

We should not start shirking our promise to the world’s poor.

Will you stand with us in defending the Australian aid budget and the instrumental work that is done in our name?

Tony Milne

Executive Officer
Make Poverty History

Call to Action: Response to Imminent Cuts to Australia’s Aid Program

In light of recent reports that the aid budget is again under threat we are asking you to take urgent action in contacting the Treasurer, Finance and Prime Minister and telling them that the aid budget is off limits for further cuts. We believe that when people take action it can make a difference in preventing or reducing the impact of cuts.

BACKGROUND

It is increasingly likely that the aid budget will be cut further during the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO), which is expected in the next fortnight. The Australian Financial Review first broke the news on December 1 with the article below.

This is just a few months after the Treasurer Joe Hockey made remarks on ABC radio that the Government would look at making budget cuts to areas that did not require legislation if the Senate continued to block the Government’s plans. The Treasurer cited the foreign aid budget as an example of where they could cut without Senate approval.

In October, The Australian reported that both the Treasurer and Senator Mathias Cormann, the Finance Minister, were considering cuts to the aid budget to finance the Iraq war.

The Foreign Minister, Julie Bishop, has repeatedly defended the aid program from these threatened cuts. She pushed back on cabinet plans to siphon aid to the Iraq war by reiterating the Government’s promise to “abide by the commitments we made in relation to foreign aid.” Last week, the Foreign Minister spoke of the aid program being the “flagship of Australia’s foreign policy.”

It is clear that both Joe Hockey and Mathias Cormann are the principle proponents of further cuts to the aid budget. We must target these two ministers, and the Prime Minister, to demonstrate that more aid cuts are unacceptable to their own constituencies.

WHAT WE ARE ASKING YOU TO DO:
1. Write a letter to the Treasurer, Finance Minister, and Prime Minister’s Office. For pointers on the content of the letter, and the contact details of each Minister, please see sections below.

2. Call the Treasurer and Finance Minister’s Offices and speak to his staff members to urge that the aid budget is cut no further.

CONTACT DETAILS OF POLITICIANS

The Hon. Joe Hockey, MP
100 Mount Street (Corner of Mount & Walker)
North Sydney, NSW, 2060
E: J.Hockey.MP@aph.gov.au
Twitter: @JoeHockey
Phone: Electorate (02) 9929 9822 Parl House: (02) 6277 7340

Senator Mathias Cormann
Level 38, Exchange Plaza
2 The Esplanade
Perth, WA, 6000
E: senator.cormann@aph.gov.au
Twitter: @MathiasCormann
Phone: Electorate (08) 9325 4227 Parl House: (02) 6277 7400

The Hon. Tony Abbott, MP
Level 2, 17 Sydney Road
Manly, NSW, 2095
E: TonyAbbottMHR
Twitter: @t.abbott.MP@aph.gov.au
Phone: Electorate (02) 9977 6411 Parl House: (02) 6277 7700

“If cuts occur, the Government will have broken their promise again to Australia’s aid program”

• Only four months ago, the Australian Government launched a comprehensive new aid policy
  which was welcomed by the development sector. Any further cuts would seriously
  undermine the Government’s own policy (‘cutting off one’s nose to spite their face’)
• The recent reports of further cuts come after the Government abandoned its election
  commitment to grow the aid budget by the rate of inflation in the May budget.

“Aid has taken more than its fair share of cuts”

• Overall, more than 20% of budget savings have already come from the aid program, which is
  only 1.3% of the federal budget
• “Further cuts to aid are unfair as they hurt the world’s poorest people”
• Australia is a lucky country but we live in a region which is home to some of the world’s
  poorest people
•  We shouldn’t make poor people pay for our budget

“Australian aid makes an enormous difference to millions of poor people around the world and we should be proud of it”.  According to DFAT’s annual aid overview, last year the Australian aid program:

• Enabled over 1.3 million more children enrol in school, built more than 9,000 new
  classrooms, and trained over 100,000 teachers across the region;
• Vaccinated more than 2.3 million children and ensured nearly 1 million additional births
  were attended by a skilled birth attendant;
• Gave 2.9 million people access to safe drinking water and increased access to basic
  sanitation for over 1 million people;
• We responded to emergencies in 24 countries including Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines
  and flooding in Solomon Islands, and gave life-saving assistance to 10.2 million people.

“Aid is an investment in Australia’s future as it builds stability and prosperity in our region. Despite budget pressures, aid is the wrong place to find additional savings.”

• We are helping people in our region move from poverty to opportunity

RECENT HISTORY OF AID CUTS

September 2013: The Government cut the aid budget by $4.5bn over four years. This included a 40% cut to Australian aid to African countries. This round of cuts also included the removal of an additional $3.5 million from the 2017-18 estimates, which made it virtually impossible for ODA to reach 0.5% of GNI as had been promised by both parties at the previous election. Therefore, the Government cut close to $8bn from the aid budget

January 2014 (MYEFO): The Government cut an additional $625 million out of the aid program in-year. This included a further 20% cut to aid for African countries.

December 2014 (MYEFO): Remains to be seen…