NEWS & EVENTS
Pacific warned of hidden dangers in Obama’s new TPP push
The free trade deal has been given new impetus at today's APEC meeting, in Hawaii, with United States President, Barak Obama, saying he wants to see a text for an agreement finished in 2012 and by Japan's decision to join the talks.At this stage, no Pacific Island...
People, not military objectives, should be the focus of aid to Afghanistan
Over the years, we've seen some tremendous progress. The number of children in school has increased from 1 million under the Taliban to 7 million today, a number unmatched in Afghanistan's history. The number of girls in school has increased from almost nothing to...
MDG targets are overlooking inequality
The incomes of the richest sections of society are soaring in the UK, China and India, and in most other countries as well. The poorest groups are seeing slow improvements at best, and often decline. Recent estimates indicate that at the current rate it will take more...
Pacific islands accuse Australia’s aid agency of coercion
The confidential documents show Pacific island countries could abandon trade talks at a regional leaders' forum next week unless Australia stops pressuring the funding of Pacific trade negotiators.Prime Minister Julia Gillard is expected to attend the leaders' summit...
AID/WATCH review of the Review : TRACKING THE AID REVIEW
AusAID has moved quickly to implement the ‘Australian Multilateral Assessment’, a process recommended by the Government’s Independent Review of Aid Effectiveness. This process is designed to assess multilateral institutions by ranking them against a...
A new direction for international co-operation
One of the many revolutions taking place in the world of international aid and co-operation is the rebirth of a movement that challenges what is now generally described as the 'traditional' aid model. Instead of a vertical donor-recipient approach to aid giving,...
Media Release: Will Australia and New Zealand really allow sovereignty to Pacific Countries on Trade Decisions
AFTINET and AID/WATCH welcome the clear indication that Australia and New Zealand, in noting without objection the Pacific Leaders Meeting outcomes, has accepted the right of the Forum Island Countries to have sovereign control over decisions about the Office of the...
Mineral Rights For PNG Landowners
Just three weeks ago we reported on the Ramu Nickel case that placed cash before custom in Papua New Guinea. The next day, on 2 August, there was a change of government in Papua New Guinea. What also followed was an important change of policy intent by the new...
AID/WATCH Fundraiser – People & Planet 2012 Diary & Wall Calendar Out Now
People & Planet is published by a partnership of 49 not-for-profit Australian social justice and environment organisations, and raises funds for the work of these organisations in promoting a just, sustainable world.Perfect for daily use, both the diary and...
Lost at sea – Exporting free trade policy to the Pacific
All the textbook theory on free trade is in stark contrast to the practical reality of Pacific lives. Small populations, long distance from markets and low economies of scale, all put the Pacific at a disadvantage when it comes international competitiveness. Of course...
Island Leaders Drowned Out At Forum
Speaking to journalists at last week’s Pacific Islands Forum, President Anote Tong of Kiribati had a few words to say about the problems facing the islands of the South Pacific.'You know what the reality of life is? In our life, there will always be...
Focusing aid brings forward the day we can do without it
It is said that only $1 of every $10 spent in Timor-Leste enters the local economy, with most leaving the country to pay for international consultants and imported goods.I have been following closely the progress of the Australian aid effectiveness review, and the...