Aiding the Pacific: The changing nature ofAustralian foreign aid to the region

Abstract

Australia is the largest provider of foreign aid to the Pacific islands—a region that receives among the highest levels of aid per capita in the world. Since the turn of the century, Australia’s foreign aid program as a whole has undergone significant change. Volumes of official development assistance (ODA), which had stagnated for decades under both Labor and Coalition governments, increased significantly under the Howard government and the Rudd government. These increases came to a halt under the Gillard government, and were subsequently reversed by the Coalition cutting the aid program by almost one third. At the same time, the strategic focus of Australian aid shifted. The Coalition under Howard prioritised improved governance in recipient countries. The Rudd and Gillard governments (2007–13) focussed on poverty alleviation through spending on health and education. The Coalition has since prioritised aid for economic sectors—including aid for trade and innovation. In doing so, the Coalition has also highlighted the national interest objectives of Australian aid (Wood et al 2016).