Aid is given to help other countries develop , for humanitarian reasons , and to improve social justice and equity, it is also beneficial to Australia and our future prosperity. Aid strengthens economic , political , strategic and cultural ties between countries and therefore it is In Australia’s national interest to be an Aid donor. Australia’s largest regional recipient of aid is Papua New Guinea, with other recipients in the poorest parts of East Asia.
Australia also contributes to development needs in South Asian, African and Middle Eastern countries. Australia places a high foreign aid priority on Asia-Pacific island countries and territories that share historical, political, economic, and community links. Australia devotes substantial resources to developing and maintaining cooperative bilateral partnerships with these countries and territories, and to contributing to the work of Pacific regional organizations.
The main benefits of receiving aid in developing countries are Economic growth , Better living standards through improved health and education services and infrastructure , the promotion of greater political stability through democracy, sustainable development and improved social justice and equity. A large amount of Australias aid is tied aid, this is where the nation must spend some of the aid on Australian goods and services.
This provides more job opportunities for Australians , increases export sales and helps Australian companies access new and future markets. cultural advantages : improves australia’s reputation , helps preserve australia’s historical, social and cultural ties with other countries .
Economic : development of global trade, stimulates economic cooperation , jobs created in aid agencies geopolitical:-strengthens ties with other countries, producing less risk of war , improves border security , allows cooperation between countries on issues regarding asylum seekers and refugees. Disadvantages of aid links include. Cultural disadvantages include aid can be wasted on glorifying the aid organization. Economic Disadvantages include loss of money, resources and economy can discourage development and hinder foreign investment; recipient country’s currency rises in value and exports become more expensive to foreign countries , recipient country can become dependent on aid.
Australia is involved in international disarmament forums which include the UN Conference on Disarmament, UN General Assembly’s First Committee and the UN Disarmament Commission. Other forums include the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) which provides regional and global nuclear safeguards, and a Comprehensive (Nuclear) Test Ban Treaty which is yet to be ratified but which Australia seeks to take a leading role in and address the security implications of nuclear testing in India, Pakistan and North Korea.
Australia is further involved in the attempted global banning of anti-personnel landmines, in its signing of the Ottawa Convention to prohibit the use, stockpiling and production of mines, and its involvement in the clearance of these through international landmine clearance programs in Cambodia. Question 2. A treaty is an agreement between countries that is bound by international law. It is als know as a convention, protocol or covenant. It contains a series of articles that state the terms if the treaty. When a country signs a treaty and legislates to make the treaty obligations part of it’s law it is called ratifying a treaty.
A treaty may be bilateral ( between to countries ) or multilateral ( involving many countries. ) Australia shares treaties and agreements with Indonesia that reflect its government and non-government commitments to economic, social and humanitarian aid. The Australia-Indonesia Partnership for Reconstruction and Development (AIPRD), which is implemented along with the Australia-Indonesia Development Cooperation Program (AIDCP). AIPRD is Australia’s second-largest bilateral agreement after aid to Papua New Guinea. The AIPRD was announced by the Australian Prime Minister, John Howard, on 5 January 2005.
AIPRD supports Indonesia’s reconstruction and development efforts, both in and beyond areas affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. It was launched to address the Indian Ocean disaster, but also aims to assist broader efforts to raise living standards through sustainable development and economic growth. It is a long-term program of sustained cooperation and is the single largest aid package in Australia’s history, bringing its total aid commitment to Indonesia to almost $2 billion over five years.
The partnership also promotes security and stability in conflict-stricken provinces with eligibility for assistance in all areas of Indonesia. Question 3 . Equity implications of aid A recent Australian Agency for International Development white paper states that Australia’s security depends on the success of poverty-reduction programs such as the one current in Indonesia. Success is shown in Indonesia’s increased economic growth, regional stability and cooperation with Australia. However, negative outcomes are argued to result from overly political or unrealistic aid policies which increase the vulnerability of the poor they seek to target.
Discrimination by the Indonesian army and government in distributing aid sent to afflicted areas is also a problem, highlighting the need for not just financial aid but recognition of human rights standards. Below are examples of argued economic and social inequity linked to policies and practices of aid to Indonesia. Economic growth, social consequences Equity issues have arisen from the emphasis put by aid agencies on aggregate economic growth over economic disparity and its social consequences.
The assumption that increases in GDP will increase social benefits is shown to be debatable, with decades of economic growth in Indonesia still leaving highly unequal levels of income distribution and, as aid agencies state, more than half the population of Indonesia still living on less than $2 a day. Concerns over the effectiveness of aid policies have also arisen over the majority of 2004 tsunami aid being left out. Less than an eighth of the Australian aid money promised to Indonesia has gone to the region as at mid 2006, with many survivors still living in substandard shelters and without adequate health care and other basic services.
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