Why Foreign Aid?

[Pedro]

Even though the Australian economy has plunged from surplus to debt in the past couple of years, the Federal Government's annual foreign aid budget is set to double to $8 billion by 2015.

So being in this financial position, why are we giving away this massive amount of money to foreign countries when our nation gets NOTHING, ZIP, ZERO from other countries when we need help when experiencing difficulties including natural disasters like cyclone Yasi, the North Queensland floods or the recent Western Qld/NSW floods?

[flappist]

We do what we are told to do......

[MRFGXR6]

I think personal we should significantly decrease or stop altogether the foreign aid and get our own country on its feet first. So many families could do with the support after all the flooding we have had over these last few years let along all the other natural disasters. But as with most ventures now days it’s just a cash flow enterprise and nothing more. Foreign aid is sadly big money and for the so called non profit organisations very easy money. I beg to ask how much of that 8billion (which can be better spent on Australian hospitals, roads, local relief etc) actually makes it to the planed destination.

[FreddyDUZ747]

How do we define "on our feet" in this country?

[trippytaka]

There is a review happening at the moment about this. The recommendations will be extended to double our foreign aid by, not 2015, but by 2025 it looks like. http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-n...404-1wdah.html

There has been a bit of press about it.

On a personal level, I guess it's the right thing to do - to offer something to those who don't have, and help them out.

Do I agree with the way it's distributed? Not really, most of the time it's inneffective - read Dead Aid by Dr. Dambisa Moyo - she's an African economist who is trying to stop western aid to Africa. Very interesting book. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dambisa_Moyo

One thing I guess I wish for is a review of spending, not an increase or a decrease, but a smarter apprach to where and how we spend - both at home and abroad.

We could halve the amount spent over 30 years if we spent it in the right areas and fixed cause issues, rather than trying to patch problems.

[Burnout]

If you would like to see how effective our Aussie foreign aid programs are, go out and take a look in any Aboriginal Community in this country, it's the same model after all. The model that's driven a people into degradation.......

[Miss_XR6]

We give foreign aid to some countries who do not have things like home/contents insurance so when natural disasters like tsunamis/floods wipe out villages in countries that live on tourism we give them aid to get back up on there feet like places like Fiji ect

Each council/mayor in australia after a natural disaster can apply for funds to rebuild the grounds if lost to natural diasters and we have insurance to rebuild homes ect (for those that do take our the right insurance coverage)

We have never had the whole of australia exposed to a natural diaster and until that happens (hoping it never does) we will never know if we would recieve aid or not

[nuthin' fancy]

Originally Posted by Pedro

Even though the Australian economy has plunged from surplus to debt in the past couple of years, the Federal Government's annual foreign aid budget is set to double to $8 billion by 2015.

So being in this financial position, why are we giving away this massive amount of money to foreign countries when our nation gets NOTHING, ZIP, ZERO from other countries when we need help when experiencing difficulties including natural disasters like cyclone Yasi, the North Queensland floods or the recent Western Qld/NSW floods?

Because we are a wealthy country and as such it is an obligation to help those worse off than us.

Same as a donation to Red Cross or the Good Friday Appeal.

[Pedro]

Originally Posted by nuthin' fancy

Because we are a wealthy country and as such it is an obligation to help those worse off than us.

Same as a donation to Red Cross or the Good Friday Appeal.

Its not by any shape or form, the same as a local charity donation.

The economy of Malaysia is the 3rd largest economy in South East Asia and 28th largest economy in the world by purchasing power parity with gross domestic US$8,100.... a wealthy country indeed. Yet we donated $millions to them following the devastating tsunami a few years ago.

Perhaps you could enlighten us as to how much Malaysia gifts in foreign aid to neighbouring countries including Australia in times of need.

[Reaper8]

I dont have a lot of thing can someone help me out???? thought not. we should be looking after our own first. there are enough people living on the street, pensioners eating pet food, people using candles for lighting. this country isnt as well off for a lot of people.

[XWGT]

Please also remember that foreign aid does not always mean cash.

Foreign aid can take various forms, from reduced price credit to IP to military aid.

Personally I dont have a problem with it.

I plugged my income into a BBC world wages comparision model and came up with 597% of the AVERAGE global wage. I have absolutely nothing to complain about as a citizen of Aus and dont mind helping out those a little less fortunate. Delivery methods and effectiveness of overseas aid could definately be improved but to be perfectly honest we would get more bang for our buck examining our own internal stuff ups before looking abroad.

My 2 cents worth only....

[BPXR6T]

Originally Posted by Reaper8

I dont have a lot of thing can someone help me out???? thought not. we should be looking after our own first. there are enough people living on the street, pensioners eating pet food, people using candles for lighting. this country isnt as well off for a lot of people.

I agree with this. So many are slipping below the poverty line here in Aus. My neighbour can't afford electricity, another on disability has a broken down car she can't afford to fix, I was in a western Victorian town the other day and was shocked to discover there were significant numbers homeless. What happened to charity starts at home...

[cosworthfreak]

Originally Posted by XWGT

Please also remember that foreign aid does not always mean cash.

Foreign aid can take various forms, from reduced price credit to IP to military aid.

Capacity building is a big one too. This can be sharing technical expertise and knowledge, as well as sending people to developing countries to coach and educate in a 'hands on' way. No money is sought from AusAID, but a dollar value is assigned to the work done each year, and this has to be reported. These amounts from each gov department then make up part of the overall Aid figure for a given year.

[BHDOGS]

All Australians contribute to Australia's aid program. Every week, around $3.30 in taxes from each of us pays for our aid program—about the cost of a cup of coffee. This is around one per cent of Australian Government expenditure, compared to the 33 per cent spent on social security and welfare.

In 2011–12, Australia will provide $4.8 billion worth of official development assistance. The Australian Government continues to increase aid in line with other donor countries. By 2015–16 the annual aid figure is estimated to reach around $8–9 billion (0.5 per cent of Gross National Income).
Where we give aid

Australia's aid program focuses on the Asia Pacific region. We are internationally recognised for our leading role in the region, particularly in PNG and the Pacific. Our aid is even more important given two-thirds of the world’s poor—some 800 million people—live in the Asia Pacific, yet they receive less than one third of global aid. Australia also provides assistance to Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean. Our aid to Africa has increased significantly in recent years and now represents around five per cent of the aid program.

Oh my 3.30 each how will we live imagine all the things we could spend that money on how bout we get rid of the 33 percent on social welfare in australia and run that better and get the bums of that working to earn taxes and youd pay less foreign aid or is it easier to just screw the poor people.

[nstg8a]

Originally Posted by Pedro

why are we giving away this massive amount of money to foreign countries when our nation gets NOTHING, ZIP, ZERO from other countries when we need help when experiencing difficulties including natural disasters like cyclone Yasi, the North Queensland floods or the recent Western Qld/NSW floods?

might wanna research things before you gripe about them... i know for a fact nz gave australia aid during the qld floods, to the point of having kiwi personnel on the ground helping out., just like australia helped nz with the chch earthquake.

and im 99% sure other countries also helped out...

its what you do, you help those that need it.

[2011G6E]

While there are aboriginal kids dying and being affected deeply by simple preventable diseases in this country, while people are homeless on the streets here, while families cannot get housing and live in abject misery in our own nation, while childrens hospitals here have to ask for public donations for various issues, while life-saving organisations like the Flying Doctors and others have to go cap-in-hand to the public for funding, I'm deeply fricking offended by the very notion of giving one cent of aid to any overseas country. We give hundreds of millions to the rich nation of Indonesia every year, we give over a billion to PNG every year, not to mention the despots in Africa.

It's not our problem...look after our own first, and if those countries don't like the way their governments run the joint, that's thier issue, not mine.

[Reaper8]

we may have a higher global wage but i bet we have a **** tin higher tax aswell. I for one would take a lower wage if there wasnt so much tax on everything. think about it lower tax and lower wages could bring jobs back to australia instead of them leavin like they are now but hey the gov loves takin what they can and they seem to only give a rats *** about themself and givin it oversea's (no boubt settin them self up for when they get booted). correct me if im wrong but isnt a percentage of the carbon tax going to be given away oversea's aswell.

[Keepleft]

Originally Posted by trippytaka

Do I agree with the way it's distributed? Not really, most of the time it's inneffective - read Dead Aid by Dr. Dambisa Moyo - she's an African economist who is trying to stop western aid to Africa. Very interesting book. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dambisa_Moyo

Should have kept much of the African nations under so called colonial rule and administration for decades longer, to give younger generations a time to change, learn and progress. Independence too soon, way so.

I'd say the same about PNG. And I'd have handed back responsibility for 'Nieu Guinea' back to the Germans:-)

[Yellow_Festiva]

It's a tough debate. I have been to many 3rd world countries and when I say I'm Aussie It's taken very well. I know at times what we give to what we get doesn't seem fair or just but that's the way it is. Sooo many people live with nothing and seem to always be smiling...

Having said that, sometimes I get the idea that foreign aid is akin to the rich wimp paying the school bully to not get belted...

[ThaFlash]

We give foreign aid so that we can steal gas or oil from east Timor for example, it works itself out in the end

[Pedro]

Originally Posted by nstg8a

might wanna research things before you gripe about them... i know for a fact nz gave australia aid during the qld floods, to the point of having kiwi personnel on the ground helping out., just like australia helped nz with the chch earthquake.

and im 99% sure other countries also helped out...

its what you do, you help those that need it.

You are correct ... our Kiwi mates sent personel here to help out not only during floods, but during bushfires as well. I'm not aware of help from other countries.

But my OP was about the $8 billion of tax payers money the Federal Government intends frittering away over the next couple of years. If you're happy about that then I think you may be in the minority.

[|||]

stop it all i say. then stop domestic aid.

"boo hoo i built my house in a flood zone and a big bad storm washed away my plasma tv give me money".

[cs123]

Originally Posted by Pedro

\
But my OP was about the $8 billion of tax payers money the Federal Government intends frittering away over the next couple of years. If you're happy about that then I think you may be in the minority.

No I am not happy about it, but that's life. We are a rich nation and we have responsibilities.

How do you feel about the billions Australia spent over in Iraq and Afghanistan fighting a war?

[chamb0]

Originally Posted by |||

stop it all i say. then stop domestic aid.

"boo hoo i built my house in a flood zone and a big bad storm washed away my plasma tv give me money".

Let me make a wild guess - you've never had a natural disaster take everything away from you. What an attitude.

[Jim Goose]

Originally Posted by |||

stop it all i say. then stop domestic aid.

"boo hoo i built my house in a flood zone and a big bad storm washed away my plasma tv give me money".

Pretty pathetic attitude .... a lot of those people who have been flooded recently WERE NOT in flood zones... look at the large amounts of people killed last year near Ipswich when unprecidented rains caused one of the biggest flash floods in recent aussie history.

How about all the people just north of me who lost everything in a cyclone and STILL HAVE NO HOME thanks to insurance companies not paying out.... or the tornado which wiped out Vincent in Townsville 3 weeks ago destroying at least 40homes and damaging over 100.

I cant wait till you hand goes out for help when you loose your home because of mother nature.... top marks

[SSD-85]

Originally Posted by |||

stop it all i say. then stop domestic aid.

"boo hoo i built my house in a flood zone and a big bad storm washed away my plasma tv give me money".

Candidate for worst post of the year.

[nstg8a]

Originally Posted by Pedro

But my OP was about the $8 billion of tax payers money the Federal Government intends frittering away over the next couple of years.

from your OP...

Originally Posted by Pedro

when our nation gets NOTHING, ZIP, ZERO from other countries when we need help

still sounds like your crying about something you know nothing, or next to nothing about.

all that says to me is why would another country bother to help in the future is the attitude later on will be 'oh, noone ever helps us, we're not helping you'

short memory it seems.

[irish2]

It shouldn't cost $8 billion to rebuild a few mud huts.

[Auslandau]

Really comes down to this ......... if anyone does not understand why Foreign aid is given and they wish to understand without sounding ignorant ...... they should learn a little about Political diplomacy first ....... and this isn't the place to learn as it just becomes a springboard ignorance.

[russellw]

Even though Auslandau has closed this thread, I am going to have a say on this topic as one that is close to my heart.

I have no issue with foreign aid - as noted above, this is a wealthy country compared to many of it's neighbours and we have a responsibility to assist them when they are in trouble. It's called humanity.

Nor do I have an issue with domestic aid for the victims of natural disasters that are becoming all too frequent in our part of the world. It's a part of what makes this country the great place that it is - the willingness of individuals who volunteer their time, energy and (in some cases) lives in helping others and for those that choose not to do so a few tax dollars or a tenner from the wallet isn't a big ask.

I do have an issue with those who live in fire prone areas (most of this country outside the major urban centres) but who choose not to insure on the basis that the community will help them out. In Victoria, after the '09 bushfire disaster, I was horrified to learn that somewhere around 30% of homes are not insured at all. The tragedy of that (apart from the blindingly stupid risk) is that those people also don't pay for the fire services that they then depend on when things do go pear shaped as those services (MFB & CFA) are funded by the insurance levy - and the willingness of the aforementioned volunteers.

There are currently public submissions being sought on the options paper prepared by the Bushfire Royal Commission on that particular issue so if you want to have a say then now is your chance to do so.

The current preferred option seems to be for collection of the levy via the local government rates system (as per SA, WA and Queensland) which means that at least everyone will be contributing to those essential services. The flaw in that option is that it would probably serve as a further disincentive to insurance given the increased cost of rates making insurance less affordable for some.

Russ