NEWS & EVENTS
Pacific globalisation NGO explains opposition to PACER Plus
The PACER plus free trade agreement is being strongly supported by the two biggest political players in the region, Australia and New Zealand.This week, Samoa's Deputy Prime Minister, Misa Telefoni Retzlaff, told Pacific Beat that his government support the trade...
G8 and G20: Where is the farmer in debates about food security?
This weekend, as G8 and G20 leaders gather in Canada to discuss the most pressing global issues, discussions surrounding food security must focus on the need for collaboration, coordination and coherence around food security initiatives. Most importantly, as the...
Where is the transparency on aid to Afghanistan?
Political whining about the failed insulation program, alleged rorting of the Building Education Revolution and the taxpayer-funded mining tax '(mis)information' campaign suggests that both sides of the political divide are concerned about taxpayers' brass. The order...
Public forum in Sydney on Australian aid to Pacific
The forum in Sydney is part of the conference organised by Australia's Lowy Institute this week on reaching the development goals by the 2015 deadline. The Millennium Development Goals were launched a decade ago with the aim of lifting billions of people out of...
AID/WATCH in the News: Ancient law threatens freedom of speech
The case is about Aid/Watch, a small non-government organisation founded in 1993. Aid/Watch researches, monitors and campaigns about overseas aid programs run by the Australian government. Its object is to promote the effectiveness of aid, from a developmental...
Rich nations backtracking on new climate aid, development watchdog warns
Rich countries will raid existing aid budgets, double-count promises and convert grants to loans to avoid paying the $30bn (£21bn) they pledged last year to poor countries to help them adapt immediately to the climate change they did not cause, a leading...
We Are The Pacific’s Best Frenemy
The story last week that more than half of Australia’s $400 million in aid to PNG was spent on consultants has had the unusual effect of actually putting the issue of our foreign aid on the agenda.Following those reports came a call from the federal Deputy...
AID/WATCH in the News: PNG Aid Money Wasted
Australia's 400 million dollar aid program in Papua New Guinea is under fire after an independent review found half the money is being spent on private companies and consultants, rather than community projects.The inquiry reported that some consultants were paid...
AID/WATCH in the News: Foreign Aid Spending
'According to reports this week half of our foreign aid to Papua New Guinea is spent on consultancies and training.Critics say more of this money needs to go to providing goods and services. But others claim consultants provide critical capacity building assistance to...
Masking false assumptions in Australia’s aid delivery
On a number of levels I find the “valuing” of work in this way obscene. We don’t value, and therefore remunerate, community and family care for children, differently abled, older people, and many others in our community, or indeed in PNG, in a...
AID/WATCH in the News: More pressure on Australia’s aid program
Speakers: Stephen Smith, Australia's Foreign minister; Dr James Goodman, spokesman, Aidwatch; Julie Bishop, Australia's Opposition Foreign Affairs spokeswoman. MOTTRAM: Twelve million dollars to research the giant panda in China .. 13-Million to redevelop a...
PNG Gas Could Blow Up In Our Faces
On Sunday night, SBS’s Dateline ran a feature story about PNG LNG, Papua New Guinea’s $16.6 billion liquefied natural gas development project, the biggest development project in the history of the Pacific region. ExxonMobil, with its Aussie partners Oil...
Fragile nations speak their peace
With the Millennium Development Goals slipping from the grasp of donor countries and fragile states, a big effort is being made to bring together all parties involved so they can thrash out why billions of dollars in aid money hasn’t yielded the expected...
Budget boosts foreign aid
Australia's foreign aid budget is up from $3.8 billion to $4.3 billion next year.Foreign Minister Stephen Smith says the change to a new international standard for calculating national income will deliver $2-3 billion more to aid in coming years, and that is on track...
Climate aid ‘insulting and self-interested’ says aid watchdog
12 May 2010 Climate aid ‘insulting and self-interested’ says aid watchdog AusAID’s budget statement, ‘Agency Resources and Planned Performance’, released last night, announces government spending on overseas aid to help developing countries adapt to the impacts of...
Media Release: Climate aid
Aid to help developing countries adapt to climate changes is set at $119 million in 2010-11, and $159 million in 2011-12. This includes the bilateral International Climate Change Adaptation Initiative, $78.6 million 2010-11, and funds for multilateral institutions,...
Solomons caretaker Deputy PM wants action on logging
Presenter: Jemima Garrett Speakers: Charles Toksana, a chief from West Kwaio, Malatia Province; Richard Irosaea, Premier of Malaita Province: Fred Fono, caretaker Deputy Prime Minister of Solomon IslandsGARRETT: Solomon Islands commercial forests are almost logged out...
New Publication: In Defence of Melanesian Customary Land
Click here to download In Defence of Melanesian Customary LandClick here to listen to Radio Australia interview with co-editor Tim Anderson