Foreign aid is given to selected developing countries, and is necessary in order to protect the people and build a stable society. Australia is part of the worldwide foreign aid commitment and plans to give $3.9 billion over 2017 and 2018. Australians believe everyone should live with basic human rights which is why we give aid, and help countries by contributing money, food and resources. The main types of aid are humanitarian aid, which is disaster/emergency relief and development aid, which is a long-term commitment between nations. Australian aid is mainly focused on development aid, and helps nations worldwide. Interestingly, 90% of Australia’s foreign aid goes to Asia-Pacific countries such as Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. This gives Australia a stronger relationship with regional nations, providing the country with a strong relation, trading partner and partner in defence. Aid is a polarizing issue that divides the nation due to the two differing views on Australia giving aid, should the country give foreign aid or not? A strong foreign aid program is vital for Australia to build successful relations and regional security.
A large section of the population believes that Australia should reduce the amount of aid given. The article What is the future of foreign aid? (Article 1) published by the guardian is against foreign aid in its current form. This is justified through the article quote “The debate over the extent of aid is, and whenever it should continue is
Foreign aid aims to reduce poverty and create sustainable economic growth and development in the Indo-Pacific regions whilst promoting Australia’s national interests. Australian aid helps to provide access to safe drinking water for 2.9 million more people and enable 1.4 million more children to enrol in school.
aid can be used to protect the United States from threats from other nations. Beyond humanitarian aid, there is a more complex interpretation of what U.S. foreign aid is and what it does both for the recipient country and America. For example, building democratic governments in other countries is one strategy for fighting terrorism. The United States has long had the reputation of using its military forces for good, such as during World War II when American soldiers helped to defeat Hitler’s Nazism. When dealing with a repressive regime which does not want to engage in democracy military force may be necessary. I am convinced that the United States can provide a healthy dose of overwhelming firepower if that is what it
Some of the main reasons why Australia provides foreign aid is to increase advanced systems and technology in other countries, decrease poverty, make other countries more stable generally and financially, etc. Some government and non-government organization like Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), AusAID, World vision, Red cross, etc. also help provide foreign aid to other countries. Australia’s 10 main focus points and the status of achievement for some of the following in providing aid to other countries are towards the following:
People could argue that since we are donating such a low percent of our GDP it would make sense for the US to increase aid levels. This would also be an argument for anyone that has certain religious beliefs. In the article A Call To Virtue, the author, Jeffrey Sachs shares one of the Pope’s various messages, “The urgent core of Francis’ message, which is the message of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, challenges this American idea by proclaiming that the path to happiness lies not solely or mainly through the defense of rights but through the exercise of virtues, most notably justice and charity.” In some religions people believe it is morally right to help through charity to find happiness. Some people also argue that foreign aid levels should decrease because of the economic crisis that the US is in. The United States current debt is over eighteen trillion dollars right now according to usdebtclock.org. People believe that by decreasing foreign aid levels it will take away some debt. If the levels were to maintain there would not be worry about creating more debt by increasing levels and the US would also not have to worry about pulling out and not giving enough. Another argument is that aid should be unconditional and should be given to whoever needs it in time of crisis no matter
Should the United States increase foreign aid? This is a topic that has come up many
There are two main perspectives on foreign aid in Australia – are we giving too much or not enough? Foreign aid is given to developing countries, and is necessary to build an environment where policies and infrastructure can be in place to support other sources of finance. Australia is part of the worldwide foreign aid commitment as we value that everyone should have a fair go, and the country plans to give $3.9 billion over 2017 and 2018. We help countries in need by contributing, food, resources, providing financial assistance, exchanging goods, personal time and knowledge. The main types of aid are humanitarian aid, which is disaster relief and emergency aid and development aid, which is a long-term commitment between nations. Australian aid is strongly on development aid particularly focused on the Asia-Pacific region, but it also has a strong commitment to African and South Asia. Interestingly, 90% of Australia’s foreign aid goes to Asia-Pacific countries such as Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, because if they build into a developed nation, then we can build trade relations, regional security and partner in defence. This is a polarizing issue that divides the nation due to different views on Australia giving aid, however, a strong foreign aid program is vital for Australia to build successful relations and regional security.
Ever had that one friend? The one who tries to help, but no matter how hard he tries, he just aggravates the situation. This friend, Steve, insists he is helping, and those around, too, would support that he is indeed helping. But Steve is actually worsening the circumstances. He is like countries who provide foreign aid to less developed countries. Foreign aid, defined as “the international transfer of capital, goods, or services from a country or international organization for the benefit of the recipient country or its population,” can be military, economic, or humanitarian (“Foreign”). It is often granted to less developed countries in order to evoke government reforms or to stimulate economic growth. However, foreign aid neither elicits government reform, nor does it consistently and reliably stimulate economic growth; therefore, the United States should discontinue providing foreign economic aid.
Foreign aid is a term referring to resources and money lent out or given to a ‘recipient nation’ who is in need by a wealthier ‘donor country’. This can be given either in long term ‘humanitarian aid’, aimed at improving the welfare and development of the human population, or short term ‘emergency aid’ focused on providing the daily necessities to a population after a war, or natural disaster. Despite common belief, the purpose of foreign aid is not only to help countries which are in need, but also to achieve a range of social, economic, cultural and geopolitical goals that will benefit our national interest. Australia is currently the largest foreign aid donor of its nearest neighbour,
Cultural things like quality issues “the concept of fairness and justice. Those most in need may not receive the Aid”. Economic issues as well such as, there is an opportunity cost associated with giving Aid “the cost of giving up one opportunity in order to pursue another”. In the Geopolitical side there is harm to the international relations where Australia’s approach can be seen as an intrusion. This can lead to strained
And while the last budget under the Labour government did include a small rise in aid spending, it also diverted hundreds of millions of dollars to pay for asylum seeker processing under the banner of “Foreign Aid”. This therefore made Australia the third biggest recipient of it’s own foreign aid. This is quite easy for the Australian government to do as the people that it directly effects don’t have much of a say in the matter. Australian’s themselves are kept in the dark as to how much of our gross national income is spent on foreign aid. The average answer is 16% of the federal budget and this amount has 79% of Australian’s rallying to cut it down - to %12. In actual fact the amount we give to other countries in either bilateral or multilateral aid is only 0.22% of the gross national income as apposed to the original 0.32%. With this amount continuing to drop, is it far of a stretch to think that the Indonesian community might not want to be bilateral aid partners in aid anymore? How would this effect us? And is there a possibility that our stupid actions may result in attacks on the country itself from those citizens who
The purpose of Australian Aid is to help developing countries around the world eradicate poverty and to promote stability and prosperity both in our region and beyond, by providing different types of assistance and financial support. Although Australia receives a number of benefits due to aid, several disadvantages can also arise as a result of this link with different countries.
Encyclopaedia Britannica defines Foreign aid as ‘the international transfer of capital, goods, or services from a country or international organization for the benefit of the recipient country or its population. Aid can be economic, military or emergency humanitarian’. As of 2015 Australia’s aid budget has fallen to $4 billion from $5.6 billion in 2013 after the 2014 Abbott government cuts which places Australia as the 12th highest country for aid as of 2015. These cuts will mean that Australian aid will be 0.22% of Gross National Income (GNI) of the 2017-18 budget compared to 0.34% of GNI in the 2013-14 budget. Australia under the governmental agency
Aid has never been an altruistic process; countries have always given aid to areas that best further their own national interests. Countries give aid for a number of reasons; they range from securing political connections to creating more favourable trade routes. Pure altruism is not the number one reason any country gives aid, and Australia is no exception. National interest lies at the core of all of her foreign aid policies, (DFAT 2015). As such Australia would most benefit as a nation from concentrating her aid on the Indo-Pacific region. Providing nations within our regional neighbourhood with aid results in economic growth for both Australia and her aid recipients. It also stabilises trade and security within the region, thus providing
As a recipient of foreign aid, Brazil in 2012 received $2.4 million (US) in international humanitarian aid. Also, during the period of 2003 to 2012, Brazil received $ 4.5 billion (US) in official development assistance (ODA). (1) As a donor nation, Brazil contributed $1.3million (US) in humanitarian assistance in 2013 and $54 million in that same category of international aid (US) in 2012. (1) Due to global austerity, international foreign aid is on a constant decline around the globe. Some estimates place Brazil’s 2015 projected, combined giving,
In our economical national interest, Australia allocates a sector to contribute significantly by providing aid and financial support to promote the stability of a variety of countries within the Indo-Pacific. Within 2016 to 2017, 90% of Australia’s aid will directly go to the