That’s the problem with headlines. They can often be read more ways than one – and that’s my...
Category - Aid effectiveness
The Solomons security shambles, and what it says about us
A spectre is haunting the Pacific. It is focused on Solomon Islands today, but has eyes everywhere...
The awkward arithmetic of Australia’s climate finance promise
Scott Morrison’s COP26 pledge of $500 million on top of the $1.5 billion promised in 2020, means...
Why do donors differ?
Over the last two decades the loudest, most popular books about foreign aid have been polemics:...
We start bright eyed
We start bright eyed With strong belief That we can do some good Our hearts are pure But far too...
The Grand Bargain 2.0: getting the incentives right for...
The dust has settled on another global humanitarian reform process, the Grand Bargain 2.0 (GB 2.0)...
Working with the relational state: the case of Bougainville
Why do the public servants of Bougainville manage some assignments so well but struggle with...
The volatile waters of Pacific aid
Years ago, I hitchhiked from Weipa, down the Cape York Peninsula to Kuranda, in the hills behind...
Why New Zealand’s aid budget was better, and worse, than...
COVID-19 has killed millions of people globally. It has overwhelmed health services. It has brought...
Government cuts aid in the middle of the pandemic
Yesterday, I set down on Twitter three tests by which I said I would judge Australia’s 2021-22 aid...