Budget 2011: Aid Budget

The Federal Aid Budget will be released later tonight.

It is likely that this is one of the areas that will fair well in the budget.

This is because there is a bilateral commitment to achieve an aid level of 0.5% by 2015.

However, there still might be some negativity in the media on this issue.

RESULTS encourages you to write online comments and letters-to-the-editors in support of an increasing aid program.

See the below post of a recent Editorial in the Sydney Morning Herald, and yesterday's piece in The Age: Gates calls for more foreign aid

BILLIONAIRE philanthropist and Microsoft founder Bill Gates has weighed in to Australia's budget debate, urging the Gillard government to hold firm on its plan to double Australia's foreign aid in the next five years.

"We're having to remind them that the needs of the poorest are not the way people should balance their budgets," he said.

Both the government and opposition are committed to increasing Australia's foreign aid to 0.5 per cent of gross national income (GNI), or more than $8 billion a year, by 2015-16.

"The Netherlands, Sweden, Norway … have been above [0.7] per cent for quite some time. The United Kingdom, who of course has had a 10 per cent budget deficit, amazingly will get to [0.7] per cent by 2013."

Australia donates at less than half that rate. This year's aid budget is 0.33 per cent of GNI.

UPDATE 
A slight increase, but it looks like Australia is on its way of sticking to its commitment to increase foreign aid to 0.5 per cent by 2015-16.

Here's the breakdown:

• Foreign aid boosted by almost half-a-billion dollars to $4.84b.
• Foreign aid will now account for 0.35 per cent of national income.
• Gov't aims to raise it to 0.5 per cent of national income by 2015/16.
• The govt will spend $1.9b on new aid measures over the next four years.