Category: aid


Gillard Government posts a moral deficit

Filed under: aid, morality — Leave a comment
May 17, 2012

It was not exactly a surprise, but Tuesday’s federal budget confirmed rumours that the government would cut the aid budget as part of a raft of measures designed to balance the books and deliver a small surplus.

The size of the cuts was a surprise: $2.9 billion over the next four years, and a deferral of the government’s commitment to increase aid to 0.5 per cent of Gross National Income by 2015.

As Micah Challenge put it, this undermines progress toward the Millennium Development Goals, and represents a disregard for the concerns raised by thousands of Australians.

We know that aid works.  If the government had kept its election commitment in full and on time, our aid programs would have saved an estimated 800,000 lives, and improved the quality of life for many more.

When a government tries to achieve a surplus on the back of the world’s poorest and most voiceless people, the result is a moral deficit.

Broadcast on 2CH Sydney, 13 May 2012.

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Labor’s broken promise on aid

Filed under: aid, defence, morality — Leave a comment
May 17, 2012

At this time every year I comment on the federal budget.  I view the budget as an indication of the moral priorities of the government, and of the people who have elected it and who hold it accountable.

This year’s budget will be good news to many families on low incomes, those in urgent need of dental care, those who will access aged care in years to come, and those who will benefit from the roll out of the National Disability Insurance Scheme.  And cuts to defence spending, especially the RAAF’s vastly over-priced and irrelevant joint strike fighter program, have my full support.

But every member of the Gillard Government should hang their heads in shame for seeking to balance the books on the backs of the world’s poorest by cutting $2.9 billion out of the aid budget over the next four years.

Another broken promise that will come back to haunt the Labor Party at the next election. 

Broadcast on 2CH Sydney, 13 May 2012.

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Don’t cut foreign aid to the poor

Filed under: aid, poverty — Leave a comment
April 16, 2012

The federal budget will be handed down on 8 May, and as the Gillard Government seeks to meet its commitment to bring the budget back into surplus, there is strong pressure to cut spending.

Micah Challenge, a global Christian movement to help reduce poverty with strong links to Australian churches, has two great ideas for those wanting to send a message to Canberra that cutting foreign aid targeted at helping the world’s poorest people is just wrong.

First, you can write to the new Foreign Minister, Senator Bob Carr, asking him to ensure that Australia gives more and better aid to help achieve the Millennium Development Goals.

Second, organise a “Give Poverty the Flush” event in your church, school or local community to shine the spotlight on sanitation, and save millions of lives in the developing world through improved water, sanitation, and basic hygiene.

I’m hoping you’ll be inspired to do both.

Broadcast on 2CH Sydney, 15 Apr 2012.

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Can you measure happiness?

Filed under: aid, economics, happiness — Leave a comment
February 17, 2012

Can you measure happiness?  This question was asked recently by Amanda Jackson on the Micah Challenge blog.

Since the Global Financial Crisis, it seems the old idea of equating more money and more purchases with increased happiness has taken a bit of a beating.  We’re finding it’s okay to save, to pay down your debt, to enjoy simple home-made pleasures, and to be content with less.  And we’re feeling more happy.

Economists have devised a way to measure happiness.  Put simply, in the form of an equation, it goes like this:

life expectancy times life satisfaction divided by ecological footprint = HPI, or Happy Planet Index. 

You can take an online survey to calculate your own HPI.  And the United Nations last year adopted a resolution that happiness should be included among development indicators.  The challenge for us all is how to raise the prominence of non-economic indicators, like happiness and contentment and spirituality, in measuring social progress and wellbeing.

Broadcast on 2CH Sydney, 5 Feb 2012.

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Help East Africa famine victims

Filed under: aid, compassion, giving — Leave a comment
October 8, 2011

Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd announced this week that the federal government will match dollar for dollar funds donated between now and November 30 for East Africa drought relief by non-government organisations accredited with AusAID.

Every Australian should take this opportunity to make a worthwhile investment in the lives of some of the world’s most impoverished and traumatised people in the Horn of Africa, facing the worst famine in sixty years. Funds will be used to help local communities rebuild where they have no water, livestock, or crops. More than 13 million people require urgent humanitarian aid.  In Somalia alone, 750,000 people are at risk of starvation, and 1.3 million children are acutely malnourished.

So give to those who can give nothing in return.  Make a donation to your preferred Christian charity, or check the Council of Churches website for a list of all accredited agencies participating in the Dollar for Dollar initiative.

Broadcast on 2CH Sydney, 9 October 2011.

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