China, India too rich for state handouts
Tim Lester
July 6, 2011
THE Gillard government is to phase out foreign aid to China and India, acknowledging the two Asian economic giants have not only become aid donors themselves but both even run space programs.
The Foreign Affairs Minister, Kevin Rudd, will announce the decision to end the two programs this morning.
He will also release the final report from the government's Independent Review of Aid Effectiveness.
The five-member panel, led by the former public servant and diplomat, Sandy Holloway, that prepared the report is believed to have made broadly positive conclusions about Australia's aid program.
The panel's report makes 39 recommendations.
It's believed the report is also supportive of a government plan to cut aid spending on advisers.
The aid program has been criticised for including hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual fees to individual Third World advisers in areas such as agriculture, education and transport.
Mr Rudd will also release a response from the government to the report.
A recommendation to phase out Australian aid to China and India is believed to be contained in the aid effectiveness report.
India has even requested an end to Australian aid, even though it remains home to hundreds of millions of the world's poorest people.
India also remains a major recipient of non-government aid from Australia.
In the 2009-10 financial year, India received $20.5 million in Australian aid while China received $41.1 million.
Despite their size and emerging importance, both countries have been small recipients of Australian aid compared with Papua New Guinea, which received $450 million.
China's own foreign aid program is believed to be more than $1 billion per year.
The Gillard government plans to spend $4.8 billion on foreign aid this financial year although that figure is expected to rise dramatically during the next four years.
The government is committed to increasing foreign aid spending to 0.5 per cent of gross national income by 2015-16, a near doubling.
The increase is likely to bring more public scrutiny of Australia's aid spending at a time when the government is committed to bringing the federal budget back into surplus in 2012-13.
China, India too rich for state handouts
Tim Lester
July 6, 2011
THE Gillard government is to phase out foreign aid to China and India, acknowledging the two Asian economic giants have not only become aid donors themselves but both even run space programs.
The Foreign Affairs Minister, Kevin Rudd, will announce the decision to end the two programs this morning.
He will also release the final report from the government's Independent Review of Aid Effectiveness.
The five-member panel, led by the former public servant and diplomat, Sandy Holloway, that prepared the report is believed to have made broadly positive conclusions about Australia's aid program.
The panel's report makes 39 recommendations.
It's believed the report is also supportive of a government plan to cut aid spending on advisers.
The aid program has been criticised for including hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual fees to individual Third World advisers in areas such as agriculture, education and transport.
Mr Rudd will also release a response from the government to the report.
A recommendation to phase out Australian aid to China and India is believed to be contained in the aid effectiveness report.
India has even requested an end to Australian aid, even though it remains home to hundreds of millions of the world's poorest people.
India also remains a major recipient of non-government aid from Australia.
In the 2009-10 financial year, India received $20.5 million in Australian aid while China received $41.1 million.
Despite their size and emerging importance, both countries have been small recipients of Australian aid compared with Papua New Guinea, which received $450 million.
China's own foreign aid program is believed to be more than $1 billion per year.
The Gillard government plans to spend $4.8 billion on foreign aid this financial year although that figure is expected to rise dramatically during the next four years.
The government is committed to increasing foreign aid spending to 0.5 per cent of gross national income by 2015-16, a near doubling.
The increase is likely to bring more public scrutiny of Australia's aid spending at a time when the government is committed to bringing the federal budget back into surplus in 2012-13.
China, India too rich for state handouts
He probably didnt understand proper meaning of the 'English' words...
