Development assistance — Making a difference

Development assistance is a big part of what Australia does in the Philippines. But I don’t often get the chance to explain why and how Australia provides development assistance here. So I wanted to take the opportunity presented by this column to do just that. It’s a subject about which I am passionate.

In short, Australia is here in the Philippines to make a difference. A range of Australian Government agencies provide development assistance of one form or another in the Philippines, but by far the largest and most prominent is the Australian Agency for International Development, AusAID.

AusAID’s commitment to the Philippines is worth about $120 million every year. This is a significant sum. So why do we do it? What is in it for Australian taxpayers?

First and foremost Australia’s development assistance aims to address poverty. Aussies may be a laconic bunch but we generally believe in the idea of a ‘fair go’ — that is, that everyone deserves the same access to opportunity.

In the Philippines we support the Philippine Government in providing a ‘fair go’ to all Filipinos. For example, in the last year we have established over four hundred schools in remote communities in Mindanao, providing 12,000 children with their first opportunity to go to school.

There’s also another reason we provide aid. Namely, because a more stable and prosperous Philippines contributes to the stability and prosperity of our region. It’s therefore in our interest too. Australia’s focus on our neighbourhood is explicit: seventy-five percent of Australia’s aid goes to Asia and the Pacific.

I also want to comment on how Australia provides aid. The Philippines is a middle-income country. Annually, Australia’s development assistance amounts to only 0.2 percent of the Philippine Government’s budget. We have no wish to replicate the services the Philippine Government already provides. But we can provide expertise to support the Philippine Government in improving its own service delivery.

We concentrate on the sectors where we can make a difference. Here, three sectors on which we focus are education, governance and disaster risk reduction.

In the education sector, we are seeking to help the government improve the quality of and access to elementary and secondary education and completion rates for all Filipino children. We are right behind the Philippines in its commitment to an internationally competitive education.

In the governance sector, Australian aid seeks to give local government units the tools to improve transparency and accountability, helping LGUs to provide services more efficiently and effectively.

In disaster risk management, Australia is working to ensure that the Philippines’ poorest and most vulnerable communities can become more resilient to the impacts of disasters and climate change.

Of course, this is just a selection of Australia’s development assistance efforts in the Philippines. We hope that in all our efforts here, we respond to the needs of communities and governments, to build genuine and lasting partnerships. I’m pleased to hear from my Philippine counterparts that it is the quality of Australia’s partnership that sets us apart.

Over the coming months, I hope to use this column to explain Australia’s development efforts in more detail. In the meantime, supporting the reform efforts of the Aquino Administration, Australia will continue to do our bit to make a difference.

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(Bill Tweddell is the Ambassador of Australia.)

For more information on Australia’s aid program in the Philippines, visit www.philippines.embassy.gov.au or www.ausaid.gov.au.