What?

Tim, I can't figure out from your article what it is you want Australia to do. It almost sounds like you would rather we send planes full of money to areas requiring aid and just shovel the money out as the plane flies over.

This might resolve an immediate problem by providing money for personal necessities and food but does absolutely nothing for the longer term issue of how can we help the refugees become self sufficient.

By providing infrastructure, as you point out, there are many jobs created not only in the building of the projects but also in the follow on usage of the infrastructure. Schools, markets, roads, government building are all longer term improvements to the communities.

Other areas you call out where Aus provides aid such as policing and prison management, while I am not familiar with the specific circumstances, can provide an upgrading of the local skills and improved community relationships.

As you may or may not be aware, fundamental to normal functioning and economic growth of any society is the need for a consistent judicial enforcement of laws concerning property ownership and contract law. Without these 2 items business development will never happen and consequently new jobs with new industry will never occur. In many areas needing aid these laws are either non-existent, weak/ineffectual or inconsistently enforced.

The Howard governments approach is the correct one as based on an age old adage that you can provide a man a fish and he will survive another day. You can teach him to fish and he will survive for a life time.

Tim,
It is a complex issue, so Leigh provides the usual complex answer. I take Bruce's point to an extent, however we could probably provide services like alternative energy to power a number of everyday functions e.g. water extraction from wells. It would be preferable to me, were the government able to provide it's own expertise rather than helping the Packer family stay wealthy with suspected inflated contracts, however so many government services have been privatised, corporatised, and the like I would suggest the government no longer has the people to send. My local Federal member has told me that his government employs approx 200,000 public servants, where Queensland employ 350,000 approx, of course the Federal Government does not employ doctor's, nurses, police, firemen, teachers etc. there seems to be a disparity in aid to the USA V Pakistan as you correctly point out, perhaps the formula needs a revision, to provide aid on the basis it will help the donor country's economy seems less than charitable to me, if Christian charity prevailed the aid would be provided unconditionally, simply because it was needed to relieve hardship.

Under-developed everywhere, is a key issue growing rapid, throughout many regions of the world.

This article is spot on however, it also high lights the lack of "community" based awareness on issues of "real" sustainable development in Australia, in the way our foreign department sells itself overseas.

The article reflects well how "unbalanced trade" (distributions) promoting the "top-down" approach become the common "economic rational" over-riding core issues surrounding market "access" which is too easily mis-understood through "aid-talks" bribes of "mutual obligation" (see also dependancy through welfare). Self-Help means the "empowerment" of a ground level "enterprising" approach.

Micro-enterprise new skills and market development is required everywhere ie: compare issues in rural Australia (like Cape York), with the small Pacific Islands nations, African and Asians rural villages. The problems are the same but differ by population, region and degree.

Try issues like; Water,Transport & Communition, Market Access & Cost... Technology? Who (exactly) is employed in this areas and where do they really come from... are they locals? How much are these people paid compared to the income of those local?

Whose Development are we "talking about". Who benefits from what?

I ask Australians to consider places like Cape York (go to the Community Council Pages listed on http://www.miacat.com/) - pick any of them and then research their issues through Google. Most dwellings round Cooktown (outside say 1 km) township for example, aint even got proper water or sewage. There is a high tourist intake but small spatial population. The political struggle (as in under-development) is disgraceful!

My point is; How can Australia ever understand the problems surrounding "under-development" while it fails to understand issues impacting those isolated in Australia itself.

I was once extremely proud of Australia's "innovative" contributions overseas, today... I feel our knowledge defies our logic when it comes to addressing the growing "human basic need" through the present approach of so called AID in all areas of political-economic social and cultural policies!

Well said miacat, They say Cooktown is about to boom - but for whom?
The kids there have nothing after year 12 or less. The sooner locals wake up to be pawns for major political parties the sooner. Development needs infrustructure and planning in remote areas - many just take for granted that people who live in remote areas are ok with substandard everything. So much revenue from Tourism is pumped back into the cities its not funny. Clicked on to your website, good stuff!

Philanthropy, of any sort, demands a high degree of "subjective reasoning" which is not well facilitated by government, administered by "objective" bureaucrats and regulated by "objective" statute.

Governments are accountable for their actions and are bound by some rules of conduct.

Australian Non-government aid is, generally, unrestricted and “unregulated”.

The Federal Governments Aid Budget does not represent the “entirety” of “Australian Aid”.

Criticising how governments facilitate the delivery of aid will always be around.

It is one of those things, where every demand is a priority and every one has a different opinion on which demand deserves priority.

We are approaching a dilemma – should some of the current federal budget surplus be

1 ploughed into extra aid programs?
or
2 returned to tax payers as reduced taxes?

I opt for 2 – then those who want to make the "philanthopic decision”, can decide which non-government aid program they are going to align with and pass on the hip-pocket benefit of reduced taxes to.