After desperately gouging the aid budget to bring it to its lowest ever level in previous years, the Government has dealt aid another blow by reneging on its promise to keep spending in line with inflation, Oxfam Australia said tonight. “The Government has refused to lift aid funding out of historically low levels, while at […]
Responding to reports that the Prime Minister is today planning to further gouge the Australian aid budget by more than $450 million, Oxfam Australia Chief Executive Dr Helen Szoke said: “The Government must not desperately dip into Australia’s already depleted aid budget. “At a time when the world faces multiple humanitarian crises, and after already […]
The Australian Government’s desperate gouging of the aid budget has created a lose-lose scenario that will cut vital programs helping some of the world’s poorest and also harm Australia’s interests, Oxfam said.
The looming cuts to aid in next week’s Federal Budget pose a risk to the ability of aid agencies to prepare for and respond to disasters, Oxfam warned today.
Disaster risk reduction work carried out since the Boxing Day Tsunami would save thousands of lives if the waves hit again today, but the Australian Government’s cuts to foreign aid pose a risk to future work on disaster preparation in our region.