Minister Conroy wants AusAID to regain prominence within DFAT
Australia’s International Development Minister Pat Conroy says he wants development specialists to “take over” the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), in another sign he’s intent on
Pacific literacy, not perverse incentives
A group of prominent Pacific Islanders and Australians has recommended that an independent advisory group be formed to shift Australia’s development assistance away from a commercial model “toward one of
Opinion: Towards a new Australian development policy
This is an edited extract from the opening address delivered by the Hon Pat Conroy MP at the Australasian AID Conference (AAC2022) on Tuesday 29 November. This conference has grown into a pre-eminent fixture on
The Pacific at AAC2022: Lesson learnt; voices amplified?
After a break in 2021 due to the pandemic, the Australasian Aid Conference (AAC) returns to the Australian National University today. The AAC2022 will include some livestreamed sessions which Pacific audiences can tune
‘More smoke than fire’: China’s Pacific aid falls short of pledges
Beijing’s development spending has fallen despite efforts to build influence in the region. In 2017, Papua New Guinea’s government announced a long-awaited AUD$4.1bn (US$2.6bn) upgrade of the nation’s potholed
PNG to receive ‘biggest slice’ of Australian finance
Papua New Guinea has been allocated the biggest slice — around 70 percent — of the Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific (AIFFP), according to the Australian government. Australia’s minister
Where the buck stops: aid in Fiji
In the most aid-dependent region in the world, Fiji ranks consistently among the Pacific’s top five recipients of development financing. According to the newly released 2022 edition of the Lowy Institute Pacific Aid
Pacific aid surges as China, U.S vie for influence
Regional powers poured record amounts of cash into the Pacific Islands during the coronavirus pandemic to help them weather the economic fallout as competition for influence heats up between China and the West. An
Opinion: Labor reduces but does not eliminate Coalition aid cuts
This year’s aid budget (2022-23) has been increased from $4.55 billion under the Coalition to $4.65 billion under Labor. There are bigger increases in the forward estimate years (2023-24, 2024-25 and 2025-26),
Albanese government to pour $1 billion more into Pacific
The Australian government will pour an extra $1 billion (US$628 million) into aid and security assistance in the Pacific – almost double what Labor promised at the election. – as it urgently tries to counter
