Ms Julie Bishop (Curtin, Liberal Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I find it somewhat rich for the former Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Island Affairs to talk about our relations with Papua New Guinea. After all, it was his then foreign minister Bob Carr who declared that sanctions would be an appropriate imposition on Papua New Guinea, which made him and the Labor government a laughing stock in Papua New Guinea. And this was the member who claimed expertise in the Pacific because he swam in the Pacific Ocean. As for his confected concern about Bougainville, his press release could not even extend to the correct spelling of Bougainville, so I am not going to take any lectures from the former parliamentary secretary on this issue.

The fact is Labor have a real problem when it comes to the aid budget because the shadow foreign minister has given a guarantee that Labor will find $18 billion to put into the aid budget. Now this member comes in and says it is $11 billion, so he has committed Labor to an $11.3 billion investment in addition to the current aid budget. I ask the member for Kingsford Smith: where is he finding the $11.3 billion, or where is the shadow minister for foreign affairs finding the $18 billion that they have now guaranteed will be reinvested in the aid budget? I would like to know which programs in health, in education, in defence, in security and in intelligence would be cut to find $18 billion or $11.3 billion—obviously the member for Kingsford Smith is embarrassed by the figure of $18 billion that the shadow minister has committed him to, so he has undermined her and said it is only 11.3.

In 2015-16, Australia will spend $4 billion in official development assistance. That makes us one of the most generous aid donors in the world. We are reforming the aid program to ensure that it is responsible, affordable and sustainable. In June 2014 I launched a new aid policy, the new aid paradigm, to ensure the aid program had a clear mandate to promote economic growth and to reduce poverty in our region. We do not throw money at other countries to buy their votes for a seat on the Security Council; we focus on performance. I also announced new performance benchmarks to ensure we are delivering an efficient and effective aid program, to assure Australian taxpayers of the value of our investments.

In the 2015-16 budget, aid allocation will be informed by rigorous analysis of the contributions that Australian aid makes to partner country GDP, the global ODA flows and the growth trajectories of recipient countries. It is the first time that such an analysis has been applied to the aid program. Of course Australia will continue to invest significant funds in the Pacific: it is our region, and this is where our focus lies. This reflects the particular development challenges facing Pacific Island countries, including geographic isolation, and Australia's responsibilities as the region's primary aid donor and as a partner of choice. Our humanitarian and emergency relief funds will allow Australia to respond to development and humanitarian challenges, such as Cyclone Pam in Vanuatu.

In the Pacific, Australian aid continues to make up a considerable proportion of the gross domestic product of small island states—around 25 per cent in Tuvalu and 18 per cent in the Solomons—but, as we pointed out, in the fast-growing Asian economies to our north, they have grown 6.3 per cent or thereabouts every year over the past decade. Indonesia's economy, for example, has grown by 70 per cent since 2004. Indonesia is now the 16th-largest economy in the world and is on track to become the 10th-largest economy; therefore, our aid is in fact less than 0.1 per cent of their GDP. Indonesia have made it quite clear that they want trade and investment with Australia, not aid. We do not have a donor-recipient relationship; we have an equal economic partnership with Indonesia. And recent history shows that stronger economic growth is the most powerful driver for lifting people out of poverty. Thailand, in 2003, asked Australia not to send any more aid; they wanted trade. We signed a free trade agreement. Trade is now $18 billion between Australia and Thailand. These countries want trade, not aid.

The member made some comment about our commitment to transparency. He obviously has not read his brief. The Australian government reports detailed aid data at the project level on a quarterly basis through the International Aid Transparency Initiative.

An opposition member: Why are you cutting the blue book? You are cutting the blue book. What have you got to hide?

We supplied this information on 10 June. You obviously have not read it.

An opposition member: What have you got to hide?

Get up with the game. This is more detailed information than was ever provided in any blue book. If Labor is concerned with transparency, outline where you are going to find the $18 billion that the shadow minister for foreign affairs has promised will be put into the aid budget.

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