Foreign aid deserves more than another 'L-plater'

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A crucial area for attention in PNG is in dealing with tuberculosis (TB). South-East Asia has one of the world's fastest growing rates of TB and in PNG the rate has increased by 42% in the last decade and is growing. As at 2011, the WHO reports PNG as having the tenth highest mortality rate from TB in the world. Again, this not a report card to be proud of and is one requiring urgent attention, not piecemeal reactive responses which in effect amount to placing a Band-Aid over an artery.

The effective delivery of a foreign aid program is the best way to ensure recipient countries no longer need aid in perpetuity. The ultimate goal of Australia's foreign aid program should be to do itself out of business through the development of real capacity in-country with a heavy focus on economic development outcomes. Before that will be possible though, Matt Thistlewaite has a big job to do in restoring the confidence of the sector and more importantly in those counties in our own region who first witnessed Bob Carr's 'new sheriff on the block' attitude and then the ignoble hijacking of $375 million from Australia's foreign aid budget as one of this country's first official acts after gaining a seat of the United Nations Security Council.

If Matt Thistlewaite truly wants to do something worthwhile in this portfolio and not just be a paper weight between now and 14 September, he needs to explain the basis of the $375 million 'reprioritisation'. How was this figure arrived at? Was it on the basis of some meaningful analysis or was it plucked from obscurity? Why was it $375 million and not $475 million or $275 million? When will the Government respond to the questions asked by the Coalition and aid sector as to what programs will be cut and/or postponed as a result of the 'reprioritisation'? What asylum-seeker costs are being covered and which are not? What will Matt Thistlewaite do himself to take charge of these issues and repair the lost confidence in Australia's aid program in our own region?

I sincerely hope Matt Thistlewaite continues the good work that was being undertaken by Richard Marles and makes it a priority to set meaningful benchmarks for aid effectiveness. Simply allowing AusAID to undertake its own bureaucratic, self-assessment process is not appropriate.

Foreign aid is not effective unless is produces tangible results on the ground. Australian taxpayers have a right to demand something better than L-plate stewardship of our $5.2 billion foreign aid program. Our place as a nation on the world stage and as a good neighbour in our own region demands that we get this right.