NEWS & EVENTS
Rich countries set to slash aid in 2010
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said aid from major industrialised nations is expected to shrink from 2009 levels and miss an overall target.It forecast that official development assistance would come to only $US108 billion ($A116.3...
Australia backs carbon markets at talks
Parliamentary secretary for international development assistance Bob McMullan told the advisory group on climate change financing in London, convened by United Nations general secretary Ban Ki-moon, that carbon markets could provide the right economic incentives to...
Concerns over land reform policies in Melanesia
Presenter: Kate McPherson & Sam SekeSpeakers: Joel Simo, Director of the Land Desk at the Vanuatu Cultural Centre in Port Vila; Steven Sukot, Campaigns Manager for the Bismarck Ramu Group, PNG; Gary Lee, Co-Director of Aid/WatchMCPHERSON: Traditional land owners...
Media Release: Melanesian campaigners visit Australia to defend customary land rights
Through its $54 million Pacific Land Program, the Australian aid agency, AusAID, continues to facilitate and support land tenure reforms that favour the commercialisation of land to attract foreign investment. Customary landowners – who constitute the vast...
PNG: Greenwashing the palm oil industry
The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) was set up by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to involve companies in creating more sustainable ways of producing palm oil. However environmental experts believe that not only is the RSPO ineffective, it has become a way to...
Our Land, Our Future: Melanesian Land Speaking Tour
Speakers:Joel Simo is the Director of the Land Desk at the Vanuatu Cultural Centre in Port Vila, Vanuatu. Joel has published numerous works on Land in Vanuatu and has extensive experience leading grassroots community education and organising at a national level. He...
ISLANDS REVOLT OVER PACER
The Secretariat of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIFS) is on damage control mode following accusations of disloyalty and being non-transparent in its dealings with countries it was created to serve.The accusations were contained in a three-page letter written by the...
Aid workers earning more than Rudd
Peter Kelly, an engineer from Brisbane, is receiving $433,000 tax-free a year to supervise the maintenance of the 73km of paved roads, 1303 km of gravel roads and 400km of earth roads in the tropical tourist haven of Vanuatu.Both are earning substantially more than...
UN panel will give $126b for climate
The panel, to be led by Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his Ethiopian counterpart Meles Zenawi, aimed ''to mobilise the resources for climate change pledged at the recent climate change conference in Copenhagen'', Mr Ban said.He said the group, evenly...
Greater aid transparency: crucial for aid effectiveness
This paper sets out and explores the link between donor aid and recipient country budgets, and the role greater transparency about aid can play in improving budget transparency, the quality of budgetary decisions, and accountability systems. The paper goes on to...
AID/WATCH in the News: Australia Talks – Overseas Aid
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Position Vacant: AID/WATCH Fundraising and Office Manager
Responsible to: AID/WATCH Committee of Management Salary: $52,946 pro rata (15 hours per week)Selection Criteria: - Ability to inspire potential and current donors with creative approaches to raising funds in...
PNG health system near collapse: UN
Prasada Rao, chief of the UNAIDS team for Asia and the Pacific, said Papua New Guinea was the region of most concern across Asia and the Pacific, where generally progress had been achieved in combating the AIDS virus over recent years.But in Papua New Guinea the virus...
They Seem Too Good To Be True
A group of farmers and fishermen gather on the shore of Teluk Meranti to discuss what their plan of action will be if the loggers come back. The forest and sea have sustained their sleepy village tucked away on the Kampar Peninsula on Indonesia's lush Sumatra Island...
Rudd Leaves Island Nations For Dead
In December 2008, the head of the small Pacific island state of Tuvalu challenged the notion that low-lying atoll nations must inevitably succumb to the adverse effects of global warming. Prime Minister Apisai Ielemia told the UN climate conference in Poland: 'It is...
People and Planet: Social Justice and Environment Calendars & Diaries 2010
People & Planet is published by a partnership of 40 Australian social justice and environment organisations, and raises funds for the work of these organisations in promoting a just, sustainable world.The calendars and diaries make excellent Christmas gifts and...
Australian Overseas Development Assistance and the Rural Poor
This includes promotion of Australian business and financial interests as well as national security enhancement. Whilst it is a relatively smaller player in the global donor community, Australia is a leading donor agency in Southeast Asia and the Pacific. Officially,...
Food prices ‘still hurt world’s poorest’
'For the world's poorest people who spend up to 80 per cent of their household budgets on food, the food price crisis is not over yet,' said Hafez Ghanem of the Food and Agriculture Organisation.Investment in agriculture in developing countries should be a 'global...