Publications
Summary
Statement by the Hon Alexander Downer, MP, to Parliament on 29 November 2000
Description
Statement by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Hon Alexander Downer
MP
29 November 2000
I am pleased to make the Tenth Annual Statement to Parliament
on Australia's development cooperation program.
In last year's annual statement, I noted the very positive
review of the aid program by the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the
OECD. For the first time, a DAC review recognised that Australia has legitimate
geo-political reasons for concentrating its aid program on countries in the Asia
Pacific. This is not news to us. But it was encouraging to have that explicit
recognition from the broader donor community of where Australia's interests, and
the aid program's priorities, lie.
The Asia Pacific focus is evident in the figures. The final aid
budget outcome for 1999-2000 was around $1.75 billion, $100 million higher than
expected at the time of the May 2000 budget. This represents an ODA/GDP ratio
for 1999-2000 of 0.28 per cent. Each year, about three quarters of the aid
budget goes to the Asia Pacific.
But more striking than the figures, as events over the last
year have again demonstrated, is the aid program's integral role in Australia's
engagement in the Asia Pacific region. The depth and breadth of that engagement,
and the strength of our regional relationships, are reflected in the program.
Just a few examples tell the story.
One million people attending the opening of the My Thuan bridge
in Vietnam in May this year, a bridge which is improving the lives of many poor
farmers in the Mekong delta
More than 2,900 students from the region currently studying in
Australia under aid-funded scholarships, who will return home not only with
needed skills but with enduring links to Australia
Some 285 Australian Youth Ambassadors, and many other
volunteers, are contributing their skills and developing lasting friendships in
many countries across the region
We are helping developing country partners both reap the
benefits of globalisation, and deal with its challenges, including through a
wide range of trade-related activities such as successfully promoting tariff
reform in Samoa, and strengthened social protection systems such as the jointly
managed Thai-Australia social protection facility.
The aid program also reflects and promotes Australia's
fundamental national interests in regional peace, stability and prosperity.
The region has seen some positive developments over the last
year. Recovery from the financial crisis in East Asia has continued, although
uneven and fragile. The Morauta government in PNG has pressed ahead with an
ambitious economic and political reform agenda. And in the South Pacific, with
some notable exceptions I will return to, governance and economic reform
issues are making progress.
The aid program has made a constructive contribution to these
positive developments.
In East Asia, the program's focus has been on economic and
financial sector reform to restore the fundamentals of growth, alleviation of
social impacts and the creation of stronger social protection systems. The aid
program is providing technical assistance and other support to improve PNG's
economic management, public sector administration and delivery of services. In
the South Pacific, activities in support of economic reform and governance now
account for 20 per cent of Australia's aid.
But set against these positives, we are all only too conscious
of the many challenges to peace and security in the region. The coup in Fiji,
conflict in the Solomon Islands, East Timor's transition to nationhood and peace
efforts on Bougainville are cases in point. And Indonesia is undergoing
tremendous economic and political changes as its democracy evolves.
And it is not only such situations of outright conflict which
are destabilising. Other issues also pose a threat to national and regional
security. Environmental degradation, people smuggling, drug trafficking, money
laundering, and communicable disease are of increasing concern. In the face of
such non-military threats, as well as broader security concerns, Australia's
development cooperation stands alongside the defence and diplomatic arms of
government in working for regional stability.
The linkages between economic growth and development and
enhanced prospects for peace and security are clear. The aid program's objective
of poverty reduction and sustainable development contributes both to the
internal stability of nations and to their willingness and capacity for peaceful
and productive relations with their regional neighbours and internationally.
But while economic growth promotes stability, it is of itself
no cast-iron guarantee against the outbreak of conflict. As developments in the
South Pacific over the last year have shown, ethnic tensions, traditional and
cultural pressures, uneven economic development and lack of institutional
capacity can lead to instability. And when conflict arises, it can result in the
reversal of hard-won development gains.
In many such cases, it is difficult to conceive of an effective
Australian response in the absence of an aid program, whether it be providing
short term emergency assistance, supporting peace building and reconstruction
activities, or providing longer term support for economic recovery.
Solomon Islands is a case in point. The Solomon Islands
government and people themselves must take responsibility for ensuring the
Townsville Peace Agreement holds. The solution must be home-grown. But
Australia, and others in the international community, can bolster their resolve
and help with some of the tools needed for peace to take hold and for nation
rebuilding to begin.
The aid program is integral to the overall Australian effort in
Solomon Islands. Humanitarian assistance has been provided to meet the basic
needs of disrupted and displaced communities. Peace building and conflict
resolution activities include facilitation of peace negotiations, assistance to
reconciliation efforts of women's and church groups, rehabilitation activities
and the reintegration into productive civilian life of youth and men who have
been involved in the conflict. Australia's support for strengthening law and
justice will be crucial to long term stability. The aid program will also be
part of an international community effort to help reinvigorate the country's
economy and address some of the underlying issues at the root of the conflict.
Events in Fiji have also highlighted the fragility of
political and social stability in the Pacific. Again, the aid program has been
part of the overall Australian response, but in a different form, given the
nature of Fiji's political crisis. Aid figured in the sanctions announced in
July. Some non-humanitarian activities were suspended or terminated. But
Australia does not want to punish the ordinary people of Fiji or damage Fiji's
longer term economic prospects. So the program's focus is now on helping the
poorer sections of the Fiji community and supporting macroeconomic stability and
public sector reform. Australia also stands ready to support appropriate
activities to promote Fiji's return to constitutional and democratic government.
East Timor also shows the aid program at work in advancing
Australia's interests in regional peace and security. In the last budget, I
announced a commitment of $150 million over four years to help East Timor move
towards stable and viable nationhood. Australian aid is helping to get children
back to school, people housed, agriculture revived, basic services restored and
a nascent East Timorese administration established. The needs of East Timor are
great but progress is being made.
The future - working in partnership with the region to meet challenges
Looking to the future, the challenge is to continue to build
upon the aid program's contribution to peace, security and sustainable
development in our region.
Promoting poverty reduction and the
sustainable development necessary to enhance prospects for stability will continue to
underpin the aid program. An important element of this will be working to
strengthen further the program's poverty reduction framework, based on the
following four arms: sustainable and equitable economic growth, increased
productivity of the poor, greater accountability of governments and reduced
vulnerability.
Countries which have embraced globalisation through an
outward-looking approach to development have delivered real improvements to the
welfare of their people. Accordingly, Australia's aid program will continue to
assist countries to take advantage of the opportunities of globalisation by
helping them develop their capacities in key areas of trade policy, governance
and financial reform.
A priority will be to further strengthen our development
partnerships in the region. The emphasis will continue to be on strong
bilateral links, backed by working with relevant regional organisations and
carrying out regional activities where appropriate to address transboundary
issues and common development challenges.
We are in the process of finalising with Indonesia a new aid
strategy. The program will respond to the challenges of Indonesia's political
and economic transformation by focusing on improved governance and addressing
the needs of vulnerable communities. The effective implementation of the aid
program depends on a high measure of cooperation with and input from Indonesia.
It is one of the pillars for building a relationship of mutual respect and
confidence.
Support for East Timor's transition to independence will remain
a high priority. Our focus will be on building the capacity of the East Timorese
to govern a stable and democratic nation, seeking to develop peaceful
relationships with its neighbours.
As our closest neighbour and largest bilateral aid partner,
Papua New Guinea's major development challenges will continue to demand our
attention. The new Development Cooperation treaty, with its groundbreaking
emphasis on performance benchmarks and the new Incentive Fund, moves the aid
relationship on to a higher level of mutual trust and cooperation. The
Bougainville peace process is at a critical juncture. Responsibility lies with
the PNG government and people of Bougainville to work through the difficult
issues to achieve a lasting settlement. The aid program will continue to back up
their efforts, in direct support of the process as well as assisting development
on Bougainville.
Events in the last year have driven home yet again Australia's
important and abiding interests in the South Pacific, and its stability and
peaceful development. Aid will remain a central element of Australia's relations
with the Pacific island nations.
Our aid programs in the Pacific are about increasing
self-reliance, not dependency. The key to self-reliance, in the Pacific and
elsewhere, is improved governance. This means continuing with a strong focus on
helping build island nations' capacity to develop the policy and institutional
frameworks necessary for better economic performance. The aid program will
continue to be a catalyst for good governance by providing early, flexible and
responsive assistance to governments wanting to pursue economic reform.
We will also factor into our programs additional support for
democratic institutions, including strengthening of parliamentary operations,
and for the institutions of law and justice. Greater attention will be given to
maintaining service delivery at the local level while central institutions
undergo reform, and more support for rural and provincial development.
In the South Pacific and East Asia, addressing the governance
issues is also at the heart of meeting the challenge of
nation-building. That challenge makes itself felt around the Asia Pacific region, whether it be
in these very early days of nation- building in East Timor, tackling the legacy
of many years of conflict in Cambodia, or in PNG where the fragmented nature of
society is illustrated by the 800 socio-cultural groups with their own
languages. Australia cannot do the nation-building for others. But through the
aid program we can help the people of those countries themselves take up the
challenge.
Looking at the regional development challenges, HIV/AIDS
stands out as a priority. HIV/AIDS is not only a health problem - it is a
broader development issue. Unchecked, the spread of the disease can devastate a
nation's productive resources, cut a swathe through generations and dramatically
reduce economic and social development. The magnitude of the challenge has been
recognised by the ASEAN countries. The 1999 International Congress on AIDS in
Asia and the Pacific (ICAAP) noted that AIDS threatens to reduce or even reverse
Asian economic growth. In Papua New Guinea, the potentially alarming dimensions
of the HIV/AIDS threat are emerging.
Earlier this year, I announced a six-year $200 million
global HIV/AIDS initiative. It will have a strong focus on our region, including
a recently commenced $60 million HIV/AIDS project in PNG. We intend to work
closely with the ASEAN countries in developing appropriate strategies. As I
announced at a seminar on HIV/AIDS held in Parliament House last week, I will
host a ministerial session as part of the 6th ICAAP to be held in
Melbourne in October 2001.
The so-called 'digital divide' is another challenge
gaining increasing prominence in the global and regional development agenda.
Australia is leading the way in capturing efficiency gains from information and
communications technology. We have achieved that position by getting the policy
settings right, including encouraging a competitive telecommunications
market.
Through the aid program, we can use our knowledge and
experience to work with our regional partners to establish the right policy and
regulatory environment to draw in the private sector, and support the necessary
human resource development. We are currently looking at what we might be able to
do to ensure the most effective contribution. Next year, for example, we will
support an e-commerce and paperless trading symposium in Beijing in 2001.
As I announced last week, the Australian Government and the
World Bank have agreed to undertake a joint feasibility study to look at how
information and communication technologies can be used to alleviate poverty,
with a particular focus on promoting education opportunities in developing
countries. This program is sometimes known as the new Colombo Plan. The study
will look at building on Australia's knowledge and practical experience in
distance learning activities.
The aid program will retain a flexible capacity to respond
appropriately to emergency and humanitarian relief needs as they arise, whether
from natural or man-made disasters. The program has demonstrated, particularly
over the last few years with the PNG drought and tsunami and in East Timor, that
it is able to respond quickly when our neighbours are faced with circumstances
beyond the capacity of their own resources.
These are just a few of the challenges. Australia does not
profess to have all the answers. But we do have a deep knowledge of and broad
engagement in the Asia Pacific region and we have relevant skills and
experience. The international community looks to Australia to take a leadership
role in the region, particularly in the Pacific. We also have a contribution to
make to broader development thinking, bringing an Asia Pacific perspective and
highlighting the regional development challenges and workable responses.
We have the will to work with our regional partners to achieve
the stability and prosperity from which we all gain. The aid program will remain
an important means of advancing that goal.
A printable PDF version of the statement
is also available. [PDF format, 23KB]