In setting out the Australian government’s aid budget for 2018/2019, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Julie Bishop, and the Minister for International Development and the Pacific, Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, wrote: “Our region is home to 40 % of natural disasters and 84 % of people affected by...
During the height of the aid boom, back in 2012, my then-colleague Ben Reilly complained that Australia was spending too much on aid and not enough on defence. We were on our way, Ben complained, to becoming an “aid powerhouse” and a “military minnow”. How times change. As the graph below shows, we...
After decades in the background, infrastructure has become sexy once again. Twelve months ago, just about any Australian aid official working in the Pacific would have told you that the construction of infrastructure, while important, was not a key strength of the aid program. Big infrastructure...
iXc (the innovationXchange) was the first major aid initiative of the current Coalition government. Indeed, it was only the major new aid spending commitment during its first term, a time of massive aid cuts. It was announced in June 2014 by Australia’s Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, and...
In my five years as Foreign Minister I have made 33 visits to the Pacific. On each occasion...
This Australian aid budget was meant to be a dull affair. Earlier rumours of large cuts had been...
The Australian Government wants global gender equality. The Foreign Minister has championed it...
It was a privilege to be part of 3MAP (the 3-Minute Aid Pitch competition) at the 2018 Australasian...
The global market for medical products is shaped mainly by the demands of wealthy consumers. It...
“We need to communicate aid better” is a constant chorus among those working in aid and development...
