The 2017 Budget continues to under-invest in one of Australia’s greatest assets.
The Government’s 2017 Budget will pass on inflationary increases for overseas development assistance (ODA) for the next two years, providing a temporary reprieve to an aid budget which has been slashed by more than $11bn in the last four years.
However, from mid 2019, a two-year freeze on aid indexation will result in a further reduction of $303m. While the budget papers do not make it clear how the Government intends to use these savings, it is rumoured that monies will be diverted to fund other government priorities.
Nigel Spence, CEO of ChildFund Australia, said: “The Government’s decision is bitterly disappointing and clearly fails to recognise that Australian Aid is one of our country’s most strategic assets. Not only does it improve conditions for the world’s poorest, it serves Australia’s interests by fostering economic growth in the region, creating new markets, building human capital and reducing the risks of conflict and displacement.
“Australian Aid also has a significant role in the war on terror. By reducing poverty, increasing access to education and improving living standards, Australian Aid counteracts the environments where violent extremism can take hold and thrive.”
As an embodiment of ‘soft’ diplomacy within our foreign policy framework, Australian Aid enhances national security efforts. Stronger relationships in the region allow Australia to contribute to better governance, thereby creating greater political stability. Increased economic prosperity among our neighbours reduces the risks of conflict, displacement and rising extremism.
Mr Spence added: “The assumption that the Australian Aid program is unimportant to Australia’s foreign policy goals, including overcoming terrorism, is misguided.”
International development programs consistently highlight the effective role that Australian Aid plays in building stable societies.
Mr Spence said: “Yet again, our aid program has been viewed as disposable. This is despite the fact that we are living in a period of heightened global uncertainty – a time of worsening conditions for vulnerable children around the globe.
“Diverting aid funds will likely serve to increase threats to our national security and ignores the important contribution that Australian Aid makes – not only to families living in poverty, but in building a region in which all Australians can feel safe, secure and protected.”
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 6 April 2017: This International Day of Sport for Development and Peace, two Australian organisations are highlighting the importance of sport in a unique partnership.
Australian Rugby Union (ARU) and ChildFund Australia have been working together to give children from some of the poorest regions in Asia the chance to take part in an innovative sport for development program: Pass It Back.
With funding support from the Australian Government, the ARU and ChildFund have been working together with non-government organisations and national rugby federations in Laos, Vietnam and the Philippines to grow and expand ChildFund’s successful Pass it Back program.
Using a fully integrated rugby and life-skills curriculum, Pass it Back not only promotes the right to play in communities where children have little or no access to organised sport, but provides important learning opportunities around leadership, life skills and gender equality.
Earlier this year, two of Australia’s top rugby players, Lewis Holland and Nicole Beck, spent three days in Kim Boi in northern Vietnam running coaching and referee clinics and supporting a team competition involving more than 160 young players and coaches from remote communities of Laos and Vietnam.
Gold medallist Nicole Beck says of the experience: “It was a privilege to be able to travel to these communities and support the development of new talent. I am particularly impressed that in Laos and Vietnam, where rugby is a relatively new sport, so many girls and young women are jumping in and giving it a go.”
ChildFund’s Pass it Back program was set up for children in rural and remote communities of Laos and Vietnam, who face significant challenges around poverty and inequality. Now, working in partnership with the ARU, Pass It Back will be expanded to marginalised communities in the Philippines ensuring more children will be able to overcome challenges, inspire positive change and ‘pass it back’ to their communities.
ChildFund Australia CEO Nigel Spence said: “The knowledge, skills and attitudes built through this program will support young people to overcome these challenges, and be strong leaders and role models within their communities. We are very excited to be partnering with the ARU, one of the world’s leading national governing bodies for rugby, to expand the Pass it Back program to more children in Asia.”
To date, more than 2,500 children and youth in some of the remotest and poorest communities in Laos and Vietnam have benefitted from participation in the program, with girls making up more than 50 per cent of the players and coaches.
Adam Thomas, Head of Community and Pacific Partnerships at Australian Rugby Union said: “The ARU has significant experience in implementing sport for development programs in the Pacific and we’re looking forward to building on that work in Asia through this partnership with ChildFund.
“One of the most remarkable achievements of Pass it Back has been its success in attracting girls and young women to the game of rugby. As we work with ChildFund to extend the program, we hope more women and girls are just as eager to try it out.”
