Should Australia increase or decrease foreign aid spending?
In 2014 the Australian government cut the Foreign Aid Budget to $4 billion. This represented a 29% cut of the previous year’s budget of $5.6 billion. According to the treasury the funds would be redirected to Defence and national security. Proponents of aid cuts say the funds are better used for domestic programs and anti-terror efforts on behalf of the military. Opponents of the cuts argue that the current reduction is too drastic and Australia should match the higher aid spending of other developed countries like the UK.
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@4ZJVB9W4yrs4Y
Decrease, until no Australian citizen is homeless, and everyone can afford heating in winter and cooling in summer, and 3 healthy meals every day
Spend less money looking for missing planes
@4ZWHNHP4yrs4Y
Keep same, but only give aid to Pacific Islands/PNG
@B22G8ZN2wks2W
Until the national budget deficit is reduced, we decrease our spending. Then we’ll only spend money on countries that don’t violate human rights.
Increase, but only to countries that are shown to have proper democratic systems of governance and countries that do not harbor or promote terrorism.
@9X3YRHR2mos2MO
satisfied with current amount but foreign aid should be distributed only to nations that do not violate human rights
@9WNKMDN2mos2MO
It depends on the nature of the aid and in the case of armed conflict, should be carefully deliberated.
@9JYQZTL10mos10MO
uh we need to like help others yknow but idk really. like if the country is never gonna like get better we should realise that and not spend relief on that yknow.
It depends, maybe increase but make sure we have a lot of money still but if they really need help then help them and maybe get more people to help them too.
increase, yes only if our country economy is capable to supply and our country will not be effected economically
@9JPP86611mos11MO
We should analyse each country we are funding and decide if we need to increase or decrease individually
@9JKG8RG11mos11MO
Continue aiding where it is possible, but stop funding the Ukrainian regime. We are not going to support the regime there any longer.
@9HF5C4C1yr1Y
I think it depends under circumstances if the country is in war if we give aid to one side and not the other we could put ourselves at risk.
@9GNGFRP1yr1Y
More information is required before making a decision, such as proportion of overall budget, how aid will be distributed, recipient criteria, how cuts would affect current recipients, proposal of new defence spending. .
@9TYWBW53mos3MO
increase funding to countries suffering such as Palestine, while decreasing funding to countries promoting terrorism and genocide such as Israel.
@9SYC4SQ4mos4MO
Increase aid through basic necessities and job programs to prevent dependence on corporations. Monitor corruption for both countries
@9SQ6SGW4mos4MO
Decrease to zero. Government "aid" is usually given for geostrategic and political reasons. Aid should be private (people donating directly to causes)
@9S25CV35mos5MO
Keep it fair for countries we are close with, such as, nz, us, uk, Germany, etc, reduce it for countries we aren’t close with
I feel like the current spending amount is satisfactory however I believe more of it should be given as humanitarian aid
@9RTRN3J5mos5MO
Australian should be first because we are Australian plus I would not denied aid for countries but if countries are in war I will send plans to save people I don't believe in war I believe in saving people I will never give money or aid to go to war what is the point it's just land
@9QQXC8B6mos6MO
It’s conditional for me:
If Australia is struggling, that money should be directed towards Australian struggles until resolved. Help yourself before you try to help others.
The current amount being spent seems enough. Why do we have to match other countries? What are the arguments for more or little? Pros and cons? I’m not informed on this matter.
Only spend on countries that have no human right violations. Islam, for example, is incompatible with human rights, so those countries should probably not receive foreign aid.
@9L9RKM99mos9MO
It should be increased only for countries that are allies which provide a beneficial and reciprocal relationship for Australia.
yes for countries in real need to assist in hunger, education, displacement and victims of war issues. not to aid countries in military aid and monetary aid in order to progress military weaponry
@9KFBZJQ10mos10MO
it'd difficult to say because it is unclear how that supposed financial aid is used not to mention the impact on the Australian people.
Australian foreign aid in the pacific should be much higher, as a wealthy and sizeable nation, we should be taking care of 'the little guys' that often fall victim to epidemics such as obesity, natural disaster and
depends where really, it depends on the country we are giving the foreign aid too and if its in our interests do spend foreign aid.
decrease by a little, no enemies
If we can afford then yes
@9DF9CQ6One Nation1yr1Y
only give the resources to countries that'll benefit Australia
decrease at this current moment due to the looming chance of war
@9DDBFK51yr1Y
Decrease in order to use funds to improve multiple issues within Australia
help some war torn countrys
@9D7PS331yr1Y
Decrease, take care of Australians first before helping other countries.
@97Q6RQ22yrs2Y
Decrease, but only to countries that are in need of help, not well funded countries that are fine.
I think that foreign aid shall be changed depending on the countries and foreign entities that we are sending aid towards.
@9TZ4NBD3mos3MO
Increase funding for countries in crisis (palestine) and decrease funding for countries that promote terrorism and genocide (Israel)
@9PSLVTY6mos6MO
Increase, and make sure the aid gets to the people that need it, rather than funding governments that have human rights violations and harbour terrorism.
Increase, but only for countries not involved in War, Genocide, or have been internationally denounced.
@9KFCMQW10mos10MO
decrease, 917 million dollars to Israel and we have people living In tents on the street. absolute joke
Decrease yntil our country and its people are provided for, then help others.
Yes, increase foreign aid to Pacific regions specifically, and focus on combatting climate change
Cut funding to countries with human rights violations, other than that funding should remain the same.
Yes let’s concentrate on our pacific neighbors and eliminate deficit then look further afield
increase, however see to that the funding being sent is going straight to the people in need and not tio the hands of those who abuse and use the money for other things.
depends, we shouldn't help in civil car problems, but we should help fund third world country that need aid
only if they just got bombed by kim jon un
@96HTVY32yrs2Y
Increase, but only for countries that have no human rights violation, are a victim of a war and deny aid to countries that harbour or promote terrorism.
@95Q9VYF2yrs2Y
Increase it for countries that don't have any human rights violation and decrease for countries who harbour or promote terrorism
Help other countries who have supported us or other countries in need
@93Y3BRYOne Nation2yrs2Y
Only for counties with that that need human rights attention, despite their government.
@93VBF6W2yrs2Y
depends ln how rich the country is
@93R3M8Y2yrs2Y
Aid should be proportionate to capacity
@93H84R73yrs3Y
Redistribute funds to the people in countries, instead of directing to their government
@93GJJHJ3yrs3Y
Depends, if the country is in desperate need and no one is aiding it, then we should increase spending, but other than that, it doesn't seem necessary.
@93D3ZHL3yrs3Y
Decrease, we should help our own country first before we help any other country.
@93CSMTR3yrs3Y
Increase in necessary situations
@939Y7HZ3yrs3Y
foreign aid spending should depend on the needs of Australia at the time. if we need the money to put into bettering our country then it should be decreased.
@939Y7CJ3yrs3Y
Depends on the state of our own country, and also what the state of the country in question that we are providing aid to.
@938425Q3yrs3Y
Increase, Trade with lots of different countries so a conflict with a trading partner won't cause as much harm to the economy as it would if you only had 1 or 2
Increase Foreign Aid spending, and spend it actually creating resources owned and controlled by the people the aid is given to. Do not give foreign governments aid since this often gets lost in corruption.
@9366BTW3yrs3Y
only if we get the sport back.
@935QTRQ3yrs3Y
Less, and spend more money on our own army
Decrease, we need to deal with providing aid to those in need within Australia
@9355RJN3yrs3Y
We should aid countries that are in need and perhaps even increase spending in certain cases, and instea dof lowering it to those that promote terrorisim, instead aid the citizens suffering in those countries.
@9352ZTN3yrs3Y
Increase, but only to countries that have a proven track record of using the foreign aid purely to truly aid the country the aid is sent to
@934Z5Q43yrs3Y
Decrease - funding should go towards supporting hardships in own country, but go to lower socioeconomic countries when in serious crisis/war (have a set budget)
@934WNCD3yrs3Y
Increase but not to countries promoting terrorism and human rights violations
Yes with a focus on our neighbours
@934R5VM3yrs3Y
Look after our own people first before giving away money to other countries in need.
The minimum amount should be donated with funds to be used towards environmental rehabilitation and community revivement to enable self sufficiency in those communities, and assist in providing locally sourced meals and shelter in times of disaster and crisis and medical care.
@934LMM93yrs3Y
@934L28S3yrs3Y
Increase campaigning to encourage people to give back
@9344YLT3yrs3Y
Should definitely aid in cases of non human envolved circumstance such as natural disasters. How ever wars or neighbouring conflicts should be left to be.
@933VRX73yrs3Y
Depending if they need it
@933VHD63yrs3Y
Increase. But get Australia great first.
@933V5CYOne Nation3yrs3Y
Increase, but only to countries that can prove to direct aid to needy projects
@933QCCH3yrs3Y
Do not have an opinion on this , aid those that help us
@933L7D33yrs3Y
Decrease 100% what about our country? We have so many issues ourselves and most of us struggle financially. Homelessness has never been so bad everywhere I look I see tents and I live in Redcliffe, its disgraceful. We absolutely should stop giving our taxes away and im a believer of giving and helping but we start with our country first! And only then which by the looks of things will be a very long time should we help other countries. I recently heard we donate as much as America and the UK donates less than us. We are a small country and the world should not rely on us for help all the time. Fix our country first!
@9337NB23yrs3Y
Keep it the same as current however the saved funds should be directed towards helping our own veterans and homeless people
@9336XJ23yrs3Y
I don’t feel strongly about this topic as it does not directly affect me
@932Y4283yrs3Y
Increase, to help the people that are not safe to help themselves
We should change what we spend it one - less on countries that have money
@932DRPW3yrs3Y
Foreign aid spending should be no more than national aid spending
Increase, no funding for this area should be redirected to Defence and national security.
@9327PQ33yrs3Y
Help with the issue of homelessness we are dealing with in Australia first, any surplus funds can then be given to foreign aid.
@92ZJ3TW3yrs3Y
Decrease, only provide foreign aid in legitimate natural emergencies
Don’t understand question
@92ZFZHLIndependent3yrs3Y
show how the funding is being spent
@92YN95Q3yrs3Y
In the event of natural disasters yes. Otherwise no
@92YLQMC3yrs3Y
It's ok with current spending, just deny aid to countries that harbour or promote terrorism
@92YJFZ43yrs3Y
Again this is more nuanced. Than I’m able to comment on
@92YGGVP3yrs3Y
@92Y88FC3yrs3Y
@92Y4S6C3yrs3Y
Decrease, look after our own people before we spend billions in other countries.
@92Y2RZ23yrs3Y
Increase, to countries in our immediate vicinity.
@92WKFPF3yrs3Y
Spend what makes sense financially, increase if the economics allows it otherwise keep it the same if that makes sense economically and of course in times of economic crisis it may make sense to reduce foreign aid if it means providing something else for Australians in a time of need.
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