What should the new government’s top 3 priorities be for the Australian aid program?

NGO WISH LISTWhat should the new government’s top three priorities be for the

program?

We asked the CEOs and directors of some of Australia’s leading development NGOs about what they think the new government’s aid priorities should be. Here are their answers.

1. Restore predictability in the aid program by committing to a dependable, consistent tra jectory to 0.5 percent of GNI.

2. Restore the integrity of the aid program by ending the diversion of aid funds to asylum seeker costs.

3. Strengthen the effectiveness of the aid program by investing in proven poverty alleviation strategies.

1. Grow the aid budget to reach 0.5 percent of national income by 2016-17, and work with the opposition to establish a bipartisan timetable to reach 0.7 percent by 2020.

2. Deliver a well-planned and effective aid program. Focus on the link between gender and poverty, and ensure Australian aid supports people living in poverty in developing countries.

3. Increase aid directed to food security and support small-holder farmers in poor countries, especially women, so they are better able to feed themselves and their communities.

1. Set an ambitious and concrete timetabled commitment to scale up our aid contributions to the 0.7 percent target.

2. Emphasize reducing poverty and saving lives as the organizing framework for effective spending of Australian aid.

3. Increase the transparency and predictability of our development spending.

1. Increase aid in predictable steps each year to reach the long-promised target of 0.5 percent of GNI.

2. Seek to unlock the social and economic power of women and girls with a strong focus on the education and empowerment of girls in our region.

3. Reweight toward greater use of the community sector for the delivery of Australia’s aid program.

Children and vulnerable groups need to be at the heart of the aid program. Australia has made great steps in placing children on the development agenda but if we’re going to break the structures which trap people in poverty we need to refocus our long-term development efforts to deliver outcomes for children.

1. Meet the long-standing bipartisan promise to give just 50 cents in every $100 to help end extreme poverty. Restore the aid commitment to 0.5 percent GNI.

2. Focus on lagging MDGs, especially maternal health and sanitation.

3. Focus on the poorest of the poor in the Asia-Pacific region.

1. Do more to ensure aid is accountable and predictable.

2. Support Australian aid charities and leverage their public backing.

3. Boost programs that have a real impact on the poorest.

1. Fulfill the bipartisan commitment to increase the foreign aid budget to 0.5 percent of GNI and set a timeline to achieve the target. Ensure that the aid budget is not diverted to domestic spending.

2. Avoid the temptation to follow the historic practice of politicizing aid in a way that chops, changes, and reinvents the aid program every time government changes.

3. Strategically prioritize climate financing as an important part of the aid budget to help address the impact of climate change on poor communities around the world.

What are the prospects for Australian aid under the new government? Find

out at http://ow.ly/oGJ0K