Former Foreign Minister Julie Bishop labels the Coalition's foreign aid cuts 'regrettable,' warning they will undermine Australia's influence in the region.
Former Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has labelled the Coalition's foreign aid cuts "regrettable," warning they will undermine Australia's influence in the region.Ms Bishop said the cuts were 'regrettable' in a time of heightened geopolitical competitionThe Abbott government cut foreign aid from around $5 billion in 2014 to just above $4 billion.
"Many development partnerships are based on long-term goals of supporting communities to lift themselves out of poverty and certainty of funding over many years is crucial to success," she wrote in the piece. Some former AusAID employees remain bitter about the merger, arguing that foreign aid expertise has been steadily diminished within DFAT.
"The merger enabled the government to make significant strategic investments in the national interests of recipient nations and our citizens," she wrote.
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