SPEECH
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Introduction
Thank you Ann and good morning everyone.
Welcome to today's meeting.
I would first like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land and pay my respects to elders past and present. I also acknowledge our friends from AusAID, Austrade and DFAT, from the Australia-Africa Business Council, the Australia-Africa Mining Industry Group, representatives from the agricultural, food security and mining business sectors, representatives from Murdoch, UWA and Curtin universities, the International Mining for Development Centre, the International Centre for Food Security and interested others.
It is wonderful, to see so many people here this morning for this important conversation.
This roundtable is important – for AusAID, for Australian business and for the poor in Africa.
And while we come here with different perspectives and interests, we all have the common goal of creating an environment in which the private sector can flourish. We all want stable government, reliable infrastructure and services, as well as a healthy and educated population.
As the new Minister for International Development, I am privileged to take up responsibility for the Australian aid program.
This aid program is something to be proud of; a reflection of Australian values; of our ethos to give assistance and tackle disadvantage and create opportunity wherever there is the occasion for us to do so.
The fundamental purpose of our aid program is to help people overcome poverty, and the programs we fund are quite literally life-saving as well as nation-shaping.
But I think it's fair to say that the range and the variety of the assistance we provide, the severity and complexity of the disadvantage alleviated, and the profound difference that is made to millions of people is perhaps not fully appreciated by the general population.
I can assure you, as someone who has worked in parts of the world that are desperate for help, that our aid program does make a difference, and in many cases a profound difference.
Can I also say that I am a proud representative from Western Australia – and I know that Western Australian business has a special regard when it comes to engagement with Africa, and with the Indian Ocean rim. This is a naturally outward-looking perspective, which has particular strengths when it comes to the range of business activities that will be the key to the development of economic and social wellbeing in Africa.
The idea that development assistance and private sector investment are separate from one another passed some considerable time ago, and I think we all understand that your expertise, innovation and entrepreneurial energy are qualities that the Australian aid program can draw on. At the same time I am sure that your values-driven instinct is to pursue investments and projects that deliver more than just economic outcomes.
Australian business shares the ethos I mentioned earlier – and I am aware of many Australian companies who shape their strategy with close reference and regard to the wider development outcomes that can be created in the countries and communities in which they operate. That's absolutely the right approach, and of course Australia's development assistance expertise within AusAID has a lot to offer Australian companies on that path.
I am sure that everyone in this room recognises that there is a productive symbiosis that exists, and can grow stronger and better, between Australian business and the Australian aid program, especially in Africa.
So, I'd like to focus my remarks on why Australia is delivering aid to Africa and what we are seeking to achieve, and to explore how stronger links between the private sector and our aid program in Africa have the potential to improve development outcomes for the benefit of all.
Growth in Africa
As we all know, Africa is experiencing significant growth and is on a much improved development path.
As a region, Sub-Saharan Africa has just been through a decade of sustained economic growth, and includes six of the ten fastest growing economies globally.
Foreign direct investment flows now total US$50 billion a year, which, needless to say, far exceeds aid flows.
Natural resource wealth is a major driver of this economic expansion. Indeed, between 2000 and 2008, the value of natural resource rents in Africa rose from US$40 billion to US$240 billion. That is simply an astounding leap.
Happily, over the last two decades, poverty on the continent has also declined steadily; rates of school attendance have increased; rates of HIV transmission have fallen; and the political representation of women continues to rise.
But of course this is not the whole story.
Much of the growth that has occurred is uneven and there is significant inequity in the distribution of wealth across the region. This unevenness can in turn lead to instability – which can then rapidly unwind development gains.
Aid to Africa – three key reasons why
Australia is delivering aid to Africa for three key reasons. First and foremost, Australia provides aid to Africa because there remains widespread poverty, preventable disease, profound disadvantage, and unmet need in this continent of more than 50 nations. Second, we provide aid because our assistance makes a difference; we have the capacity to help our fellow men and women, and Australia's aid program is efficient and effective. Finally, we provide aid because it is in our national interest to do so. Helping countries in Africa develop sustainably builds economic capacity and opportunity that benefits the Australian economy, and creating greater wellbeing and stability lessens conflict and increase our own security.
Let me elaborate on those points.
- The development challenges facing Sub-Saharan Africa are stark.
- 34 of the world's 49 least developed countries are in Africa.
- Over 47 per cent of the population live on less than US$1.25 a day.
- Sub-Saharan Africa remains the region furthest from meeting the Millennium Development Goals.
- The region has higher rates of maternal and infant mortality and malnutrition, lower life expectancy, and lower rates of access to proper sanitation and clean water than any other on the planet.
If we are aiming to help people overcome poverty and aching deprivation and preventable disease; if we are aiming to give children a chance at life through basic health and education then it is entirely appropriate for us to have an aid program in the poorest region in the world.
- And the fact is that Australian aid is making a real difference to Africa's development. We are not a large donor in Africa, but it is our skills and experience that are most in demand.
- 34 of the world's 49 least developed countries are in Africa.
- Australian expertise, particularly in the areas of agricultural research and mining governance, is highly sought after by African governments – as many of you here would know.
- Australia is recognised as a world leader in agricultural research with expertise in areas such as dry-land farming, water and soil management. These are critical to combat the perennial African tragedy of malnutrition and famine.
- The Mining for Development initiative is an example of where Australia is using its experience and competitive advantage to translate the wealth created by resource extraction to deliver sustainable development outcomes.
- These sectors are crucial to employment and economic growth. By focusing on these, the aid program works to help more African people to benefit from the economic progress in their countries.
- Finally, but importantly, Australia's development assistance also serves Australia's national interest. This is one of the basic tenets of our aid program – that it is in the national interest to have a world-class program. Why is that? Because as I said earlier, promoting peace, stability and prosperity also advances Australian economic interests; it supports our national security interests and ensures that our development investment is secure and that development gains in Africa are consolidated rather than lost.
- Australia has growing interests in Africa. Our trade with the continent has expanded steadily over recent years, increasing by an average of 4.8 per cent per annum since 2005. Again, I hardly need to tell you that Africa's booming resources sector is creating opportunities for Australian businesses.
- It's a telling statistic that 1 in 20 Australian companies listed on the Australian Stock Exchange now has some kind of investment in Africa. And of course Africa hosts the largest number of Australian mining projects of any region outside Australia – making up something like 40 per cent of all overseas mining projects.
- In addition, Australia has strong and growing people-to-people links with Africa. According to the last census, 290,000 Africans have made Australia their home.
Africa – future projections
And it's for all these reasons that the Australian Government has substantially scaled-up development assistance to Africa since 2008, within the framework of our commitment to increase Official Development Assistance to 0.5 per cent of Gross National Income.
Having said that, it's important to understand that Australia is a relatively small donor to sub-Saharan Africa – with 6.4 per cent of Australia's total aid going to Africa.
We therefore need to be very selective in our interventions; we need to avoid aid fragmentation and focus efforts in areas where we can achieve a real difference and have influence – these are the key elements of the Australian Government's aid policy framework, An Effective Aid Program for Australia – making a real difference – delivering real results.
AusAID is working to develop a new specific regional strategy for Australian aid to Sub-Saharan Africa up to 2016-17. Through this we want to focus on areas where we can deliver development outcomes of lasting significance by building on established and effective programs and partnerships.
We will expand our work where Australian expertise matches African governments' priorities and commitments to reform; and also where we have the capacity to support longer term development results in areas like mining for development, food security, dry land farming and trans–boundary water management.
We will also work where Australian assistance can deliver progress in relation to underfunded or lagging MDGs – like water and sanitation in Southern Africa, and maternal, neonatal and child health in the East and Horn of Africa.
We will continue our aid efforts across Africa, particularly through the Australia Awards program and the Mining for Development initiative. The Government has now committed to joining the African Development Bank, which will provide opportunities for Australian business to bid for the Bank's work.
Finally, Africa is home to some of the most protracted and complex humanitarian situations in the world and so humanitarian assistance will continue to be an important part of our program.
Choosing our partners well
Fundamental to the effective delivery of our development assistance objectives will be partner selection.
As we have scaled-up both our aid program and our broader engagement with Africa, we've deepened our partnerships with African Governments, with the United Nations and with international organisations and civil society. But significantly, we also see the private sector as a key partner in the delivery of our aid to Africa.
An Effective Aid Program for Australia identifies the value that exists in placing greater emphasis on working with the private sector as part of our aid program.
This policy framework highlights the value of partnerships and encourages AusAID to 'harness the power of business' in seeking to achieve aid priorities.
It is important to note that it is the Australian private sector which first re-energised Australia's engagement with Africa. In fact I think you could make a strong argument that the very substantial and rising investment by Australian companies in Africa has meant that the private sector has for many years been ahead of the government in recognising Africa's potential for growth and development.
Through these years of experience we know that the private sector has developed strong and extensive networks; a deep understanding of the complex and fluid operating environment that obtains in Africa; and a reputation for hard work, honesty and innovation.
As a donor to Africa it is essential that the Australian Government draws on this invaluable expertise.
We are already partnering with the private sector in those key sectors and programs which I have outlined. But I believe today's Roundtable provides AusAID with an opportunity to deepen our understanding of the challenges to private sector development and investment in Africa, and to explore opportunities to partner further with you to extend the effectiveness and impact of Australia's aid to Africa.
I also hope you see a partnership with AusAID as an opportunity to build African skills, enhance the effectiveness and transparency of governance, and support an enabling environment which drives investment and economic growth, but perhaps more importantly, I hope you see a partnership with AusAID as an opportunity to pursue what I am sure is our shared objective, namely the sustainable and equitable development of Africa, its nations and its peoples.