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Foreign aid

June

Penny Wong and Richard Marles visit Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape.

Why Australia needs to stop being PNG’s payday lender

It might seem a good, neighbourly thing to do. But loans can be damaging as poorly tied aid. The alternative is subsidising direct Australian business investment.

  • Carolyn Blacklock

May

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No coal, but $31m energy and other aid package for Ukraine

Foreign Minister Penny Wong says giving Ukraine flexibility about how to spend an energy aid package is better than sending a shipload of coal.

  • Tess Ikonomou

April

Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom, 43, was killed in an Israeli air strike in central Gaza while helping to deliver food. 

Albanese ‘outraged’ after aid worker’s death as condemnation grows

Israel’s top military commander has apologised for the death of Zomi Frankcom and six colleagues killed in a botched Israeli airstrike in Gaza.

  • Andrew Tillett

March

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea James Marape in December.

What China gets right in PNG and Australia gets wrong

This former leader of PNG’s state energy supplier says we should take a leaf from the China playbook by using a “tied aid” model.

  • Carolyn Blacklock
Penny Wong announcing the unfreezing of funds to the UN agency helping Palestinians.

Australia ends freeze on $6m for Palestinian aid agency UNRWA

Australia joins Canada, Sweden and the European Union in restoring funding for the organisation after at least 12 countries froze payments in January.

  • Andrew Tillett
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A food drop over Gaza.

Dropping aid from planes is expensive and inefficient. Why do it?

Aid professionals say dropping aid from planes is an expensive, inefficient way to deliver much-need supplies, but the US, Jordan, Egypt, and France are forging ahead.

  • Sarah Dadouch and Claire Parker

January

People shelter at a school affiliated with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Khan Younis.

Details emerge on UN workers accused of aiding Hamas raid

One is accused of kidnapping a woman. Another is said to have handed out ammunition. A third was described as taking part in a massacre at a kibbutz.

  • Ronen Bergman and Patrick Kingsley

June 2023

Kherson resident Andrii evacuates by boat on Thursday.

Aussie Ukrainians scramble to marshal support after dam disaster

Charities are marshalling donations and deploying funds to help the tens of thousands of Ukrainians displaced by the destruction of the dam on the Dnipro River.

  • Hans van Leeuwen

November 2022

A DFAT fund has backed the Southeast Asian Women’s Economic Empowerment
Fund which will fund SMEs led by women in counties including Vietnam.

Andrew Forrest’s family office coinvests with DFAT on Asian investment

Tattarang and the Scalzo family’s private office have co-invested with the government’s Emerging Markets Impact Investment Fund to back female entrepreneurs in Asia.

  • Updated
  • James Eyers

October 2022

Foreign Minister Penny Wong.

The big winners from the $1.4b foreign aid boost

Countries in Asia and the Middle East will get more funding as Australia vies for a UN seat, but the bulk of the budget goes to the Pacific to counter China’s influence.

  • Andrew Tillett

September 2022

The government is undertaking a review of development aid.

Aid spending shake-up would help Asia most: experts

A secret proposal to underwrite private investment for development assistance would not put taxpayers’ money at risk.

  • Andrew Tillett
Australia's share of aid to the Pacific is declining as other donors step up their contributions.

Use private investment to fight China’s power in Pacific: secret report

A study urged the Morrison government to overhaul Australia’s foreign aid program, including taking direct equity stakes in infrastructure projects.

  • Andrew Tillett

May 2022

George Soros, billionaire and founder of Soros Fund Management LLC, speaks during  day two of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland.

Ukraine could be start of third world war: Soros

George Soros says Russia’s invasion could spiral into a conflict that might lead to an end of Western civilisation.

  • Updated
  • Chris Williams and Joe Barnes
May 24, 2022

Albanese must put down a Quad marker in Tokyo

The new prime minister should use his debut on the global stage to explicitly signal that Australia’s support for the four-power regional grouping is entirely bipartisan.

  • The AFR View

April 2022

Penny Wong

Labor to offer thousands of ‘green cards’ for Pacific workers

The ALP has pivoted, promising a US-style lottery that could give permanent residency to thousands of Islanders to try to counter the influence of China.

  • Andrew Tillett
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Paul Dougas

AFP under fire after foreign bribery case fails

The former head of engineering firm Sinclair Knight Metz has taken aim at the AFP after being cleared of foreign bribery charges

  • Michael Pelly
Solomon Islands PM Manasseh Sogavare with Australia’s Pacific Minister Zed Seselja in Honiara.

A decade of Solomons blunders rolled out the red carpet for Xi Jinping

The question now is what needs to be done to reverse the erosion of Australia’s credibility in the Pacific.

  • Kevin Rudd

March 2022

Australian aid to the Pacific region is to increase to a record $1.85 billion.

New $65m Honiara embassy as Pacific aid hits a record

Aid to the Pacific region will be lifted to a record $1.85 billion as Australia urgently seeks to counter Chinese regional engagement.

  • Tom Burton
Cardno’s international aid division has worked in nations including East Timor.

Cardno offloading last vestiges in $56m foreign aid deal

The sale of the international development aid business, with more than 1500 staff, comes amid activity in the ESG sector.

  • Liam Walsh

January 2022

“There are parts of town where we just don’t know exactly what has happened,” said Australian minister for the Pacific, Zed Seselja.

Morrison government announces $1m initial Tonga aid package

Australia is expected to send its first C-130 relief flight to Tonga on Tuesday, with more aid likely in coming days as the tsunami damage is assessed.

  • Jacob Greber

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/foreign-aid-1lz6