Micah Australia has welcomed an announcement by the Australian Greens of a policy which would lift the country’s overseas aid budget to 0.7 per cent of gross national income over the next 10 years.
Ben Thurley, Micah Australia’s national coordinator, welcomed the move and urged the Greens to negotiate with other parties to implement the policy. He also welcomed a new commitment to greater transparency in the foreign aid program.
Mr Thurley said he urged all parties to work to rebuild and reinvest in the nation’s aid program, “as we believe that our country’s commitment to tackling global poverty is a moral issue, above party politics”. “Australian aid is one of the ways we, as a wealthy nation, help build a fairer world, and work to save and improve lives in our region and beyond.”
The boost has been costed by the Parliamentary Budget Office at $7.97 billion to 2020.
The announcement follows one by the Australian Labor Party last month in which they pledged to reverse $224 million of cuts to the foreign aid budget if elected in July.
Under a series of successive cuts already made to Australia’s foreign aid budget, aid levels will drop from 0.23 per cent of gross national income in the 2016-17 financial year to 0.21 per cent in 2019-20.
