Cutting overseas aid harms the poor

For broadcast on 2CH Sydney, 26 Jan 2014.

The Australian Christian Lobby has joined the chorus of church leaders in expressing disappointment at news that the federal Coalition will make further cuts to Australia’s overseas aid budget.

ACL Managing Director Lyle Shelton said Christians had been at the forefront of urging the both Labor and the Coalition to keep the Millennium Development Goal promises, which included increasing aid to 0.7 per cent of gross national income by 2015.

“Like Labor’s deferrals of aid increases in the past two budgets, the Coalition’s overseas aid cuts have come as a big disappointment to Christians who believe that we should be generous with our aid,” he said.

Mr Shelton said the United Kingdom, whose budget and economic situations were far worse than Australia’s, was on track to meet its MDG aid promise on aid this financial year.

“If the UK can do it, so can we.”

I’m Rod Benson for the NSW Council of Churches.