The increasing importance of non-traditional donors such as China has meant that the economic and political stronghold of Western countries in sub-Sahara Africa has gradually ebbed.
A reduced aid budget equates to the forsaking of real opportunities in foreign policy terms. In the long term, this could make the savings look miniscule compared to opportunity costs.
In the humanitarian aid and development sector, local staff are paid less and receive fewer benefits than their expatriate colleagues, even when they do similar work and have similar qualifications.
The pressure the Abbott government faced over the Syrian refugee crisis hints at a broader trend. Global political dynamics are now exposing a credibility deficit in Australian foreign policy.
As the UN gears up to unveil the Sustainable Development Goals for 2030, here are two new rules for development funding to help it go as far as possible.
DFAT secretary Peter Varghese sat down with Michelle Grattan to talk about aid, the integration of AUSAID, Islamic State, the Asian century and much, much more.
With the possible exception of North Korea, there aren’t too many countries that don’t like to think of themselves as “good international citizens”. For states such as Australia, it’s ostensibly one of…
There is a way for governments to find out the consensus on global issues such as climate change. But it involves painstaking, complex work, and an end to the adversarial clash of competing ideologies.
Australia has cut aid to Indonesia by 40%. That may cause diplomatic displeasure, but the country has restructured its development programs in recent years to be less dependent on foreign money.
Australians donate around A$2.4 billion to charity each year, but how many lives does that impact? Effective altruism is a social movement focused on maximising the impact of your donated time and money.
The Coalition has had a substantial lift in the latest Newspoll, now trailing Labor in two-party terms 49-51% compared with 45-55% a fortnight ago. This is its best two-party result since September. The…