An economics professor anticipates more aid funding from the Australian government, despite cuts in its latest budget.
Australia pared back its foreign aid spending by nearly $500 million, but it also announced additional short term funding of $AU335 million to help countries, such as Papua New Guinea, cope with Covid-19.
This additional funding will stop after two years.
Photo: Long Zheng/ CC BY-SA 2.0
The director of the Development Policy Centre at the Australian National University, Stephen Howes, said this is not realistic.
"Although the Budget was disappointing in the sense of embedding those cuts, I think as the situation unfolds the government will recognise that it does need more money and, of course, it can afford more money. It's shown it's willing to run a very large deficit, so I think rather than seeing this support wound back so quickly, we will, in the course of the year, see further extensions of funding," he said.
The Australian Council for International Development's chief executive, Mark Purcell, said having the aid dip coming during a pandemic is concerning, but he welcomed the government 'front loading its immediate regional response to Covid-19."
