Thanks for the interesting interview.

I was surprised by your claim that “We are now going to be going into a time when Australia is not, for instance, the predominant aid giver in the South Pacific”. If we are not going to be the predominant aid giver then who will be? Lowy’s factsheet on the subject shows that in 2006-13, Australia gave $US 6.8 billion to the Pacific. The US was second with $US 1.8 billion. China was fifth with $US 1.1 billion. Australia is going to be the predominant aid giver to the South Pacific for decades to come.

More broadly, I do hope that the new foreign policy white paper gives a lot of attention to aid. Let’s face it, Australia’s position on the South China Sea or on Syria matters not a jot. But how we spend our $4 billion of aid makes a difference to the lives of millions. Aid decisions get the least attention but are arguably the most important made by any Australian Foreign Minister.

Regards

Stephen

PS I was also surprised by your claim your claim concerning “the continuing squeezing of DFAT.” At the time of the 2015 budget, Julie Bishop announced what she said was “the single largest expansion of Australia’s diplomatic network in forty years”. And DFAT has of course now got access to the $4 billion aid budget, and all the departmental resources that go along with that.

References here:
http://www.lowyinstitute.org/files/chinese_aid_in_the_pacific_regional_snapshot_0.pdf
http://foreignminister.gov.au/releases/pages/2015/jb_mr_150512.aspx