Comments

Thank you Scott, That's a very good question. The most clean and tidy solution, it seems to me, would be to recreate a semi-autonomous aid program. However, I am not working in the trenches, and my academic perspective might well lead me to under-appreciate the difficulties doing this. In terms of function, all that is required is a structure that allows people to build a real career within DFAT focusing on aid, and also which allows aid workers a proper place at the decision-making table at posts. My guess is that there are a wide range of solutions which would more or less afford this. I presume the best way to choose which of these should be enacted would be a very careful independent review. Thanks again Terence

Thank you Juliet.

Thanks for this well-considered blog. Spot on (as usual).

An excellent piece of analysis. Additional funding can potentially be put to good use; however, government needs strategy and organisational capacity to effectively use this additional funding. Terrance, I would be interested in hearing more about your views on any required structural changes. Regards

Thanks Stephen An unfortunate summary of how the aid Budget(s) were cut, essentially in the name of domestic Australian Budget priorities. Not in the cause of delivering aid that achieved its objectives. The most disgracelu examples have been (1) abolishing AusAID, then (2) abolishing the ODE and IEC. This was despite the former Prime Minister Morrision subsequently promising to embed program evaluation (back) into the APS (following the Thodey Review) – from which it had been allowed to lapse in the Howard years after 1996. The Department of Finance's Resource Management Guide 130 on APS program evaluation (https://www.finance.gov.au/government/managing-commonwealth-resources/planning-and-reporting/commonwealth-performance-framework/evaluation-commonwealth-rmg-130) is only the beginning of this embedding. It can all too-easily be ignored by time-poor and/or indifferent APS management. More to the point, I do suggest that it is not the amount of dollars in any aid budget that should be the target. It's what those dollars achieve – demonstrably. Like children vaccinated; clean water projects delivered; maternal mortality reduced (as just some examples in the Health area with which I'm familiar). Again to the point, I do not recall any Foreign Minister publicising such results and highlighting just exactly why Australia delivers foreign aid. And thus creating a domestic constituency for this Budget and Australia's part in reducing poverty and hunger in the developing world. In 2017, just under 700 million people globally were living in extreme poverty on the World Bank's revised figure of US$2.15 a day. https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/factsheet/2022/05/02/fact-sheet-an-adjustment-to-global-poverty-lines. As Scott Bayley has suggested, Australia's programs for reducing these poverty levels need to be removed from Ministerial and political priorities and handed to independent experts.

Great insight indeed. My argument is, if you are intending to bring in families for those PLS workers that have families, at least lobby the respective industries to raise the wage rate instead of opting for the Award rates, or pay the worker EBA or create a total new instrument of remuneration. It’s just unfair to have two legal remuneration instruments Award vs EBA and pay the PLS workers who does the same work and contributes to the same output for the business Award rates. How is that viable for a worker that has a wife and one child? I plead those that are at the forefront of this to carefully consider the options and have at least a few existing PLS workers that have families interviewed or consulted to gather more information.

Excellent review, Stephen. I found this to be a very useful and fair summary of developments in Australian policy with regard to labour mobility from the Pacific under the Coalition and Labor Governments over the past two decades. While there has been nothing less that a revolution in Australian policy relating to temporary entry of workers from selected Pacific states, New Zealand's labour mobility policies relating to Pacific peoples have changed very little since the introduction of the RSE scheme in 2007. As New Zealand emerges from the disruption to labour mobility caused by border closures there is going to have to be a re-invention of the RSE scheme if it is to remain an attractive option given the way the PALM scheme is evolving. There has been a lot of excellent work by Devpol staff and research associates on labour mobility over the past few years. Hopefully this can be sustained going ahead.

In welcoming Labour's strategy to ward of PRC influence in the Pacific region, the Australian national food security crisis must not be overlooked. The Australian Farmers Federation has in its Roadmap to year 2030 earmarked a gross growth up to AUD 30 billion CAGR. To achieve this semi skilled farm workers from ASEAN countries is part of the National and Global food security scheme. ASEAN countries needs to be prompted to engage in sustainable agricultural practices to mitigate climate change and carbon credit savings. Australia has to grab both end of the stick for a holistic approach. By fine tuning the sc 403 .281 Asian Farm Workers Visa scheme, in which only proven farmers and farmworkers are made eligible for the Farm Workers Visa, on a willing worker-wiling employer basis, one that is removed from dubious ASEAN countries bureaucracy, the Labour government will achieve a wholesome goals. It is not either this or that, it is each scheme running concurrently complimenting each other to serve national interest ancd that of the ASEAN agriculture industry.

Wastes are inevitable and i as person believe if we start making awareness by telling everyone around the country to manage their waste individually by starting from their homes would reflect better living standard. Also looking for better ways to manage and dispose waste like recycling.

I don’t see our new government having a clear strategic purpose for Australia’s aid program. Nor do they have a plausible plan for rebuilding organisational capacity to design and deliver effective investments. In my experience the more flawed aid investments were usually driven by short sighted political considerations and ministerial directives. I think there would be considerable merit in creating a statuatory authority to deliver Australia’s aid program

A leader who affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops. To the world you may just be a simple leader but to us especially Papua New Guineans you are the real HERO! You are like candle which consumes itself to light for others. You gave us the best gift of all by believing in us, a truly great mentor like you is hard to find, difficult to part with AND IMPOSSIBLE to forget. Through you encouragements and guidance we feel that we are ready to face tomorrow’s challenges. You are the morning star that conquers the darkness into the light, created a little heaven for the bees and flowers to live a happy lifestyle. Especially leaders like you, late Grand Chief Sir Michael Thomas Somare, thank you for caring so much for us, we may not remember everything you said, but we will remember how special you made us feel, we are so grateful that we had you. Thank you for challenging us to be the best and instilling in us a passion for learning. Technology will keep evolving but nothing will replace the power of the Father of the Nation and his inspirational leadership. Sad farewells are given to those who are extremely prized and special Late Grand Chief Sir Michael Thomas Somare, you are one such a LEADER The reason why life was so much fun In a twinkling of an eye we will miss you But your passion and kindness will be remembered forever in the history of The country.

I'd forgotten how well you write Sadhana. You just took some pretty complicated stuff in Fiji's political scene and made it simple to understand. "Votes for minor opposition parties might therefore end up protecting the government." Thank you and well done!!