Penny Wong confirms Australia will resume UNRWA funding, commits an additional $6m to UN agencies

Australia will “unpause” vital funding to the United Nations agency in Gaza, a month after it was suspended over terrorism links.

Australia will resume its $6m in funding to the United Nation’s “lifesaving” aid agency in Gaza, more than a month after it suspended its support and amid growing concerns about the worsening humanitarian crisis.

Australia was among more than a dozen donor countries that paused funding to the UN’s Relief and Works Agency in late January after Israel alleged 12 staff members were involved in the Hamas attacks.

On Friday, Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong said the government had received assurances that UNRWA itself was not a terrorist organisation, and additional safeguards would “sufficiently protect” Australian taxpayer funding.

“On that basis, and after consideration by the national security committee this week, Australia is unpausing our contribution to UNRWA,” Senator Wong said.

“There are two facts a responsible government can’t ignore in relation to UNRWA. They do lifesaving work and the recent allegations were grave.

“So the decision I am announcing today is the result of the Australian government working together with our partners to rebuild confidence, to establish ongoing diligence about the use of aid money generously given by the Australian people.”

Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong made the announcement on Friday Picture: NCA NewsWire / RoyVphotography

Senator Wong also announced an additional $4m to UNICEF to provide urgent services and $2m to an arm of the UN dedicated to facilitating expanded humanitarian access into Gaza.

Australia will also support efforts by Jordan and the United Arab Emirates to assist with the delivery of “vital humanitarian aid” to civilians in Gaza, delivering 140 ADF aerial delivery parachutes for use in humanitarian assistance drops.

Senator Wong called on Israel to co-operate with efforts to allow more food and aid into Gaza “now”.

Canada, Sweden and the European Union have all resumed their funding in recent weeks, while there are concerns the US’ ongoing pause could become permanent.

Coalition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham said Australia shouldn’t have resumed funding “without and ahead of” the US.

“How can we believe that Australia – through our contribution – is going to be able to have the leverage and influence around tough enough conditions and strong enough verifications to have them upheld when a country like the United States – a far bigger contributor – continues to withhold the funding, pending completion of the independent review?” Senator Birmingham said.

“Penny Wong should be releasing the advice that she’s relied upon. She should be detailing the assurances she’s had. She should be making clear what verification measures are in place.

“And she should be outlining why it is that Australia has decided to act outside and out of step with the United States when, by acting out of step with the US, we are failing to take advantage of the type of leverage that could get more effective outcomes.”

Senator Birmingham welcomed the government’s other funding announcements, saying those were the pathways that “should be being pursued”.

Australia is the latest country to reinstate funding for the UN aid agency for Gaza. Picture: AFP

The peak association for Jewish Australians also slammed the government’s decision, labelling it as “wrong” and said Labor needed to fund “another way” to feed the Gazans.

“To say that UNRWA as a whole is not a terrorist organisation sets a very low bar indeed for the kind of agencies with which Australia will partner,” Executive Council of Australian Jewry president Daniel Aghion said.

“It remains our view that delivering aid through UNRWA poses an insurmountable risk of Australian taxpayers’ money being wasted or, worse still, being used in part to support Hamas’ terrorist activities.

“Other agencies such as the World Health Organisation, the World Food Program, the Red Cross and UNICEF administer aid and humanitarian services in Gaza and these bodies would be far more trustworthy conduits of Australian aid funding.”

The Australian Jewish Association is also “outraged” by the government’s decision and called on the Coalition to “commit to undoing this terrible decision”.

“Labor has been warned on multiple occasions that there is a serious risk of Australian taxpayer funds being used for terrorism. They cannot claim ignorance when Australian money is discovered to have funded the next atrocity,” AJA chief executive Robert Gregory said.

Senator Wong said the government would apply ‘stringent conditions’ on the new UNRWA funding agreement. Picture: NCA NewsWire / RoyVphotography

Senator Wong said the allegations against the agency had been “serious”, but the government would apply “stringent conditions” on the new funding agreement with the UN agency to ensure the money went directly where it was needed.

She said UNRWA was the only agency that had the infrastructure to “receive and distribute aid on the scale needed right now in Gaza”.

“But aid can only reach the civilian population at scale if Israel lets it into Gaza,” she said.

International Development Minister Pay Conroy said UNRWA had a track record of doing “lifesaving work”.

“That is why successive Australian governments have funded it since 1951,” he said.

The funding pause impacted the $6m in “top-up” funding Senator Wong had announced in mid-January, and did not impact the $20m in core funding already delivered before the accusations arose.

The Greens, who have been calling for Australia to reinstate funding since it was “inexcusably” paused, welcomed the announcement.

“Without humanitarian aid, children are being starved in the ruins of Gaza and are dying of malnutrition. Restoring UNRWA funding is the bare minimum, the Labor government should publicly pressure Israel to allow aid into all parts of Gaza,” deputy leader Mehreen Faruqi said.

“Starvation is a weapon of war and Israel continues to block humanitarian aid from reaching people in Gaza in brazen violation of the International Court of Justice ruling.

“I hope this is the start of the Labor government breaking away from their unquestioning and immoral support of Israel. Now, Labor must call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire and an end to the occupation and apartheid.”