Budget: Foreign Aid

The majority voted against a motion introduced by NSW Senator Mehreen Faruqi (Greens), which means it failed.

Motion text

That the Senate—

(a) notes that the Federal Government has announced a review of Australia's foreign aid program;

(b) notes with concern that:

(i) Australia's foreign aid budget has been cut by 27% since its peak in 2012-13, and is well below the average for countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD),

(ii) the Liberal Government cut $117 million from the aid budget in 2019-20 – if current trends continue, Australia’s foreign aid program will be in the bottom third of all OECD countries by 2020-21,

(iii) Australia's current aid commitment stands at an abysmal 0.21% of Gross National Income (GNI), well below Australia's United Nations obligation of 0.7% of GNI,

(iv) aid programs in south and east Asia have been cut drastically, and

(v) the Liberals' budget cuts and political repurposing of aid to serve Australia's self-interest have decimated our foreign aid program;

(c) calls on the Federal Government to ensure the review is conducted independently and the findings are shared publicly; and

(d) calls on the Federal Government to:

(i) increase our foreign aid budget, and

(ii) use the review as an opportunity to reset their approach to foreign aid and put poverty reduction, climate resilience and social justice at the heart of our foreign aid program.