Launch of our 100 Days of Action Campaign

100 Days to deliver a life saving aid budget

We have launched our 100 days of Action Campaign!

The campaign will be running from February 3 to the release of the Federal Budget on May 14. That is 100 days with the aim to use our collective voice to deliver a loud and clear message to our leaders, namely that funds must not be cut or diverted from the aid budget because it costs lives.

The motivation behind our 100 Days of Action campaign stems from the Gillard Government not only reneging on its promise to increase the aid budget to 0.5% of Gross National Income (GNI) by 2015, but also just before Christmas diverting $375 million from allocated foreign aid money to pay for domestic costs for services to asylum seekers. Moreover, the word around Canberra is that the $375 million of the diverted funds is just the beginning and that the Government has actually approved a diversion of up to half a billion dollars worth of foreign aid.

The diversion of these funds is not just a matter of accounting. This money has already been committed to fund life saving programs across the world. We know that Australian aid delivers real and lasting change for people living in poverty. Cuts to Australian aid means cuts to effective programs that are working. Ultimately this means that many of the most vulnerable persons on our planet, many of them our closest neighbours and children, will die as a consequence.

This is unacceptable! Australian aid already accounts for only 35 cents in every $100 of GNI. A small increase of the aid budget in proportion to the country’s GNI has the potential to support millions more people to break the cycle of poverty, at very little cost to us. It is morally and financially the right thing to do.

We have 100 days to make sure our leaders get our message.

1.    Funds must not be cut or diverted from the aid budget because it costs lives.
2.    Increase, as promised, the aid budget to 0.37% of GNI in the 2013/14 Federal Budget.

To make this happen, every week we’ll send our campaigners a handful of suggested actions you can take to deliver these important messages. (If you are not on the mailing list, join us here .)

Many of the actions are as easy and quick as liking a page on Facebook. Others, such as writing to Foreign Minister Bob Carr, will require a little more effort. Every activist decides how many actions she or he is able to do. As a campaigner, every action that you take WILL make a difference.

Anyone and everyone is welcome to get involved with this campaign.  The louder the noise, the more impact it will make on decision makers and politicians in Canberra.

So join us! Together we can be heard.

Not only will we collectively make a life-saving difference. We will have a lot of fun on the way and connect with likeminded people. NGO’s around Australia will be uniting over the next few months with the same messages, and we will be linking you in and directing you to activities which may be relevant or of interest to you in your local area.

Find out more...