Catholic MPs deaf to their Christian obligations

#1019 for broadcast on 2CH Sydney, 11 Jan 2015

Australia is the fourth richest nation but will slip to 19th position in terms of foreign aid allocation in the 2016/17 financial year.

In The Sydney Morning Herald on Monday, World Vision chief executive, the Reverend Tim Costello, expressed puzzlement that “the most Catholic Coalition Cabinet in Australia’s history” can be so cruel in slashing our aid program to record lows. He says:

Despite ignorant populism that aid is wasted, the opposite is true; it is a runaway success. It saves lives through immunisation and clean water and gives girls an education … The halving of infant death rates over the past 20 years … has been as great in landlocked sub-Saharan Africa nations without resources as in the powerhouses of India or China.

Rev Costello says: “Why are Catholics in office deaf to their Christian obligations when they smash government aid – one of the key levers to tackling hunger and poverty?”

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