Increased aid to Pacific flows back to Australia

Australia's aid for Papua New Guinea and the South Pacific for 
the financial year 2004-05 has leapt by nearly $300 million to 
$805 million. But this aid will result in a cut in money for 
basic needs. Aid is being redirected from poverty, health and 
education programs to concentrate on "governance" and "law and 
order", in line with Australia's interventionist approach to the 
region.

Australian police and military are set to reap a windfall as they 
are charged with implementing the majority of these programs. 
Unfortunately, most of these funds will be paid out in wages to 
Australians and not end up in the countries that so badly need 
them.

Despite much of the area where Australia's aid program is focused 
lacking essential services, such as comprehensive health and 
education systems and access to basics like drinking water, the 
Foreign Minister has deemed it more pressing to give $114.3 
million to Australians for operations in PNG and $93.7 million to 
Aussies for the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon 
Islands.

The 2004-05 aid budget was hailed by the Foreign Minister, 
Alexander Downer as a huge increase in aid funding, yet the facts 
belie the spin according to AID/WATCH's Tim O'Connor. AID/WATCH 
is an NGO which monitors Australian aid to other countries.

"If you deduct the money Australia is spending on employing 
Australian police in PNG and Australian troops in the Solomon 
Islands and the money going to Australian government departments, 
then we are giving much less in aid than Australia gave last 
year", said Mr. O'Connor.

"These programs can not be seen as aid programs", continued 
O'Connor. "The money is not alleviating poverty in the Solomons 
or PNG. This money will end up in Australia in the back pockets 
of Australian police, military and bureaucrats. It's another form 
of boomerang aid. This approach will not support people getting 
out of poverty. This is taking the aid program back to where it 
was seven years ago — too little money attempting to achieve too 
many objectives."