Policy Updates

On November 8, 2024, Austrailian Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong has announced AUD10 million (US$7 million) in financing for an Innovative Indo-Pacific NGO Accelerator.

The funds would be provided to assist NGOs in increasing the scale of their initiatives to promote climate resilience and gender equality. It would have a particular focus on the Pacific.

Wong noted that NGOs have been leaders in areas such as micro-finance, impact investment, and impact bonds. Wong said the Accelerator would assist NGOs in expanding their impact by overcoming structural barriers.

Australia has taken an increasing role in assisting blended finance activities since 2022.

On September 20, 2024, the Papua New Guinean Minister for National Planning Ano Pala called for improved value and coherence from Australia’s assistance program.

Australia has provided over AUD637 million (US$433 million) annually to Papua New Guinea.

Pala criticized the spread of sectors in the ODA relationship, and the amount of funding going towards consultants and contractors. He referred to this as 'boomerang aid.'

The sectors in the agreed assistance strategy included cooperation on women’s rights, access to electricity, education, improved roads, and security.

Pala cited a major rebuild of the Angau Memorial Hospital, as a preferable approach to assistance. The hospital, in Papua New Guinea’s second-largest city of Lae, involved AUD250 million (US$170 million) of Australian development cooperation funding.

On August 28, 2024, the Lowy Institute found that gender equality was the principal target of around 3% of development funding in the Pacific, compared with a global average of around 4%.

The Pacific was found to have the lowest level of female political representation in the world. In addition, a much smaller proportion of women than men are in the workforce compared to the global average, and about two-thirds of girls and women had experienced domestic violence.

While Australia’s contribution was slightly beneath the global average for women’s development financing, it has spent US$6.4 billion between 2008 and 2021 on women’s investments in the Pacific.

On August 26, 2024, the Development Policy Centre at the Australian National University announced its 2024 Australasian Aid Conference, to be held from December 3 to 5, 2024, at the Crawford School of Public Policy in Canberra, focusing on a range of sectors and aims to support development within the research community and promoting collaboration.

The conference is Australia’s largest annual meeting on international development and normally attracts some 600 participants, including researchers from the Pacific, Asia, and Australia.

The Development Policy Centre also planned to host a 2024 Pacific Migration Workshop on September 3, 2024. The workshop will focus on climate resilience and mobility, as well as the economic dimensions and social implications of migration.

Submissions are open until August 30, 2024, to propose possible panel events and papers.

On June 8, 2024, Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong announced that Australian national Natasha Stott Despoja was re-elected to the 23-person UN committee monitoring the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

Stott Despoja was previously Australian Ambassador for Women and Girls as well as an Australian senator. She was reappointed to the committee in her personal capacity, and will commence her second term on January 1, 2025.

On May 14, 2024, Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers delivered the annual Australian budget, which showed the ODA budget rising slightly to AUD5 billion (US$3.2 billion) for FY2024/25.

0.19% ODA/GNI was expected in 2024. Notably, Australia included the grant element of concessional infrastructure loans in the overall ODA figures for the first time.

Within the ODA program, expenditure on the Pacific was expected to rise to almost 40% of the total ODA budget.

AUD144 million (US$93 million) was estimated to be spent on climate and the environment. A new Climate Resilient Communities Fund in the Pacific is slated to receive AUD100 million (US$65 million) over 3 years. Environment spending included AUD200 million (US$129 million) for a Pacific Resilience Facility over 4 years. An Indonesia Environment Partnership will receive AUD200 million (US$129 million) over 4 years.

The gender equality, inclusion, and disability sectors are estimated to receive AUD102 million (US$66 million), including for implementation of expected new strategies for gender equality, LGBTQI+ rights, and disabilities. This also included funds for an Indo-Pacific Gender Equality Fund and a Southeast Asia-based GBV prevention program.

On May 3, 2024, Australian Minister for International Development and the Pacific Pat Conroy announced a pledge of AUD492 million (US$317 million) to the Asian Development Funds’ 14^th pledging round, covering the period of 2025–2028.

The low-interest financing arm of the ADB focuses on grants to lower-income countries. Conroy emphasized the value of these grants to regional needs such as climate resilient hospitals and education facilities, as well is improving the systems that run them.

Conroy indicated Australia had worked with representatives from Kiribati and the Cook Islands to ensure that more funding would be received by the Pacific. An increase of over AUD500 million (US$323 million) was expected for the Pacific, compared to the previous replenishment.

Australia has also pursued arrangements to ensure access to finance for people in Afghanistan, Myanmar, and the Rohingya refugee population in Bangladesh, particularly women and girls. Australia urged the ADB and the World Bank to improve their procurement processes by avoiding approving artificially low-priced, poor-quality projects where higher prices were later demanded during implementation. Conroy encouraged tender processes to focus more strongly on quality and value for money and expressed concerned that low bid prices were discouraging a broader range of bidders from seeking work, particularly in the Pacific countries.

Australia is the second-largest contributor to the fund, behind Japan.

On March 26, 2024, DFAT listed guidance on good practice in assessing the gender equality outcome of activities, including the guideline that all Australian development assistance investments over AUD3 million (US$2 million) have to include a statement of gender equality outcome.

The guidelines use the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee's gender equality policy marker to determine if the investment targets gender equality as a significant or primary objective. Guidance also covered gender mainstreaming, climate change, and disability implications.

The guidelines also included recommendations for drafting and designing for better outcomes from projects in gender equality.

On March 5, 2024, South Korea and Australia renewed their MOU on development cooperation since its first signing in 2019.

The renewed MOU outlined an institutional framework for cooperation on new bilateral development cooperation policies, cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region and sectors (gender equality, climate change, humanitarian assistance, etc.), and strengthening of cooperation mechanisms. In particular, the document set out guidelines for Director General level-biennial meetings of Development Cooperation Policy Council.

The updated agreement is expected to further strengthen cooperation between South Korea and Australia to contribute to the stability of the Indo-Pacific region.

On February 8, 2024, Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea James Marape visited Australia for the 5^th Papua New Guinea – Australia Annual Leaders’ Dialogue to meet with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and discuss, amongst other topics, ODA issues.

Papua New Guinea is the largest recipient of Australian ODA. The two prime ministers discussed Papua New Guinea’s budget repair plans and fiscal situation, with Marape welcoming budget support from Australia to assist with budget shortfalls. Marape also addressed Australia’s parliament during his visit.

They noted the importance of continued support for agriculture to improve supply and quality, especially to provide continued support for women. Marape and Albanese also discussed Australia’s assistance to Papua New Guinea’s national road network and 30-year master plan for port rehabilitation.

The leaders pledged to act in response to Papua New Guinea’s need for more reliable green energy. Australia has provided US$150 million to upgrade and repair major energy assets, including refurbishing the Ramu 1 hydroelectric power station.

Marape also noted Australia’s assistance in completing new solar farms in Bougainville and West Sepik, Papua New Guinea. Separately, small energy projects in Papua New Guinea are being funded by Australia through the Pacific Climate Infrastructure Financing Partnership. Australian ODA has also been provided to improve education and support health services aimed at tuberculosis and malaria, as well as MNCH.