Campaign for Australian Aid welcomes ALP announcement at ACFID Conference
Announcement posted by Sarah Cannata 16 Oct 2015
16 October
MEDIA RELEASE
Campaign for Australian Aid welcomes ALP announcement at ACFID Conference
Campaign for Australian Aid has welcomed Labor’s pledge to repair a portion of the Coalition’s recent Australian aid cuts. They are now calling on the Coalition, in the spirit of bipartisanship, to reach out to the Opposition in order to match their commitment to reinvesting in Australian aid.
Earlier this morning, opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman, Tanya Plibersek, announced that a Labor government would give Australian aid organisations a boost of $30 million a year to counteract the string of recent cuts made by the coalition.
“We welcome Labor’s promise to legislate Australian Aid’s primary purpose to be the alleviation of poverty, particularly in light of the Coalition’s record-breaking $11.3 billion in total aid cuts. It’s a positive step towards repairing Australian aid and building a more prosperous future for our country, our region and the rest of the world,” said Executive Officer for the Campaign for Australian Aid, Tony Milne.
“We welcome the investment into the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP) proven to offer one of the greatest returns on investment in the Australian aid program and reaches the most vulnerable people within the poorest communities.”
Mr Milne added that the $10 million each year going towards data collection for the Global Goals demonstrates a commitment to measuring the impact of our global contribution.
Earlier this week, ahead of the mid-year economic forecast announcements, the Campaign for Australian Aid coalition launched a bold new video via http://dearprimeminister.org,featuring a montage of speeches by Malcolm Turnbull indicating that the Liberal government would increase our investment in Australian aid.
“We’ve been incredibly happy with the response with Australians sending thousands of letters to the PM over the last few days,” said Mr Milne.
“We’re looking forward to working with all parties in our bid to repair the aid program and fulfill our global promise of investing 0.7 per cent of our GNI to aid,” said Mr Milne.
If you’d like to arrange an interview or photo opportunity with Mr Milne, please contact Sarah Cannata on 0407 536 133.
About Campaign for Australian Aid
The Campaign for Australian Aid is a joint initiative of the Make Poverty History and Micah Challenge coalitions, for all Australians who believe we can and should do more as a nation to end extreme poverty around the world. It represents over 65 aid and development organisations, church, business and community groups.