Comments

I suspected as much, just didn't want to be accused of other-side-of-the-pond discrimination! Next time you probably want to go for a nice South Australian shiraz.

Thanks Garth and Stephen Sometimes I ponder on how much Australians have become self-focussed - as in, someone with an annual family income of over $150,000 can still (recently) claim "entitlement" to government support. By contrast, the arguments for giving foreign aid are focussed on the "other" - those around our world who do not have our riches and life opportunities. These arguments no longer seem to resonate with those who can give. And especially how sharing what we have in (relative) abundance can give these people - men women and children - some of those necessities of life that we in Australia now take for granted. There seems to be a fundamental dichotomy between "Australia" and the billions trying to live on US$1.25 each day, as Australians attempt to pass on by, on the other side of the road. To make a concrete example, relating to the people of Afghanistan after 2015 and the current public priority of our troops returning "home". That country remains one of the worst places in the world to be a woman. Girls' schools are frequently attacked, high-profile women’s rights activists have been killed, and violence against girls and women continues to be a major problem. 87 per cent of women in Afghanistan have experienced at least one form of domestic violence; including physical, sexual, or psychological violence or forced marriage. After the withdrawal of most western military forces in 2014, Afghanistan’s men, women and children will remain at risk. I have put money into several projects providing long-term support of Afghan civilians. Their future safety should also be our governments’ present priority.

Thanks Mel good point - to be clear, I definitely mean aid worker to mean all those working in aid (including contractors, NGO staff, and the like). cheers Terence

Ashlee Marc's points are well made and there still seems to be more to complete this picture. I do not want to enter the "promises broken" debate as I am not sure that is [now] the jugular issue. As the Independent Review of Aid Effectiveness and other commentary flags, predictability and consistency of aid investment is crucial - regardless if the mechanism or partner through which the investment is made. Pragmatically we probably all recognise that things change and aid budgets are increasingly one of those "things". So it seems the issue is now more about timing, or timeliness if enacting those changes - in this case the changes to the aid budget. Mel Dunn

Terrence This is really an enjoyable read, both in style and content. I read it as soon as it was posted, and have returned a number of times to read again as it has created some reflection for me, though not in terms of amber fluid. There is one particular element you comment on that creates contemplation. Towards the end of your piece you comment that a [better] practice could “involve affording aid workers time to actually engage with their work, and to learn the lessons to be learnt, rather than hurriedly shovelling money out the door”. It is preceded by a statement referring to an aid agency. While I doubt it is your intent in the writing, for each word seems purposeful, it would be a shame if ‘aid worker’ is interpreted as only ‘an officer of an aid agency’. All who are engaged in supporting the delivery of an aid program (be they agency officers, the private sector, NGOs, individuals), given more time to engage, learn etc as you write must create the possibility of better outcomes. And it would seem particularly useful in that context if ‘aid worker’ was also interpreted as a collective and hence “small ideas and accumulated learning” is not lost to fragmentation. Mel Dunn

Huh. Well maybe that's why it didn't work? I have to confess that, as a New Zealander, I don't really understand Australian beer political affiliations...

The only people I know who drink VB are radical lefties who still think the "Socialist Worker" is an informative source of information.

Great article Colin! I'm amazed on how little information there seems to be on DSIP spending. PM O'Neil in his speech said "Joint District Priority Budget Committee (JDBPC) around the country are rehabilitating roads, building foot bridges and purchasing much needed vehicles and equipment for police and other public servants." I would like to know where this information was obtained and if it's available publicly. I checked out the Auditor-General's report on the DSIP (most recent is 2009 - see <a href="http://www.ago.gov.pg/docs/reports/PartIII2009.pdf" rel="nofollow">Part 3</a>[pdf]) which documents massive amount of mismanagement or worse, for example in one district it says "This Office noted instances of payments totaling over K5.6 million which were made without any evidence or proof that they had been made with the approval and endorsement of JDP & BPC" (p. 202). Not exactly ringing endorsement of JDPBPC's success.

Dear Marcus, I agree strongly with your arguments in this blog, particularly with regard to the conundrum for external actors of knowing whether/how to work with the state for the benefit of citizens in Melanesia. However, I think your point about ‘the ability of the state to resist pressure to channel public resources towards particularist interests, and instead towards a universalist national interest’, posits the Melanesian state in an ahistorical light not dissimilar from the interpretations inherent in donor programming. Instead of viewing Melanesian states as weak and in need of strengthening to resist particularist pressure, external actors may be better served by seeing them as functioning according to the needs of the existing political order. That is, distributing rents among the elite to maintain the governing coalition. The resulting policy prescriptions might, hopefully, focus less on convincing bureaucrats/politicians to act against their own self-interest and consider more deeply how the common interests of the state and citizens can be mobilised. Which I think is what you argue closer to the end in ‘viewing state capacity as a whole-of-society issue’. I really wonder, though, whether we can hope to see Australian aid taking a more nuanced, less state-centric approach in the next few years.

Stephen thank you for writing about what we can do as individuals. I think our discussions about aid and development on sites such as this would be enriched by the inclusion of more ethical and other personal reflections and not just focussing on the politics, economics and research sides of things.

Dear Jane and Anne Marie, Great article and lots more to read via the hyperlinks in the article. I am writing to you from Cali Colombia where the country has now graduated to a middle-income country. It's interesting to put in perspective the fact that 60% of poverty in Latin America is found in the three countries that are generating the most wealth (Mexico, Colombia, Brazil). I am not necessarily a fan of ODA by any means as they missed a good opportunity to start the process in 1960 by putting in place the tools to measure the impact of these human and financial flows to developing countries. Did the shift come from Official Aid or Private flows...the debate will go on!! - The definition of ODA or what is included has changed so much that it would be hard to even evaluate what is actually making it to destination or country of focus..Current initiative for transparency are not producing much results....all different website publishing different numbers...one good example is Colombia -- the country's website reports 1/2 of billion in ODA while the OECD reports 1 billion. Are government's department technically equipped to distribute a new form of aid coming in the shape of loans? or should they stick to what they should be doing best...create the economic and social conditions for the private sector to thrive! I have had the opportunity to travel all over the Americas and part of Africa. The social and infrastructure deficit is humongous. This is at the same time a "commercial opportunity" if we believe that there is an abundant amount of natural resources to address this "deficit". There is also a belief that the private sector can deliver social services as part of their CSR programs. It's hard to imagine "collective and wide-spread collaboration" of efforts as well continuity in program deliveries. I could go on forever about all of the problems that this unfortunate sector of hyper-individual efforts create but I rather focus on the potential for this sector to become hyper collective. We have a world of opportunities in front of us to speed up fair and equitable development that is not "one of the other" BUT "one with the other". I am focusing on lobbying all sectors (direct or indirect) to participate in a collective efforts in Colombia which will become even more relevant in the context of a potential peace accord and reintegration of 5 million+ displaced people. Luc Lapointe CEO & Founder, Keen TO http://www.keento.org (under development)

Here is a really powerful follow up item on this from Dan McGarry: http://pacificpolitics.com/2014/01/an-end-to-impunity/