Sector News
Read the top aid and development news from Australia and around the world.
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News from sector
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Climate change an 'existential security risk' to Australia | $10m ‘friendship grants’ to boost Indo-Pacific ties | Foreign aid recipients accused of ‘harming children’
ACFID | 18 May, 2018
This week, the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee published its report following its inquiry on the implications of climate change for Australia's national security and more details emerged on the Government’s ‘friendship grants’.
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ACFID announces Conference theme for 2018 | Essential Media polls support for overseas aid | Details of exciting learning events and the Australian International Philanthropy Award
ACFID | 04 May, 2018
This week Essential Media has polled voters on our responsibilities towards poorer nations, and the results are interesting. The US expresses ‘bemusement’ over Australia’s lack of leadership in the Pacific, while the Government pledges additional assistance to the Rohingya crisis.
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Reactions to proposed aid cuts | Growing Chinese influence in the Pacific | The Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters reports on the Foreign Donations Bill
ACFID | 13 Apr, 2018
This week, Australia's continued response to proposed aid cuts aligns with reactions to reports that China has approached Australia’s near-neighbour Vanuatu about a military presence in the nation. The Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters reported this week on the Foreign Donations Bill, recommending that the Government consider removing or redrafting many of its component parts.
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Aid cuts loom | The approaching monsoon season | Australia's refugee resettlement policy
ACFID | 06 Apr, 2018
This week, the sector responds to reports that the Government is considering cutting Australia’s aid budget by up to 10%. The Australian Government announces humanitarian assistance to Yemen, while South Sudan, Iran, Somalia have been 'excluded' from an Australian refugee program. Also this week, concerning predictions of “enormous deaths” among Rohingya refugees with the approach of the monsoon season.
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Spotlight on the ACFID Code | SDG and ASEAN Summits | Australia's humanitarian responses to the Syrian and Rohingya refugee crises.
ACFID | 16 Mar, 2018
This week, ACFID launches Spotlight on the Code, and CEO Marc Purcell blogs on ways to strengthen Australia's implementation of the SDGs. Minister Fierravanti-Wells opens the Australian SDGs Summit, and Australia's leading sustainable development advocates call for greater collective action on the 2030 Agenda. Emergency response is slow to reach PNG communities after earthquake, amid calls for Australia to do more to help Syrian refugees, and take a stronger stance on human rights abuses in Myanmar.
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Spotlight on the ACFID Code | International Women's Day | Plans to train Myanmar military | Allegations of sexual abuse reported to the Charity Commission
09 Mar, 2018
This week, member contributions to ACFID's blog comment on the Code of Conduct and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Develpment. The Australian Government announced humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan and Pakistan, as the NZ and Australian Prme Ministers agreed to 'stepping up' commitments to the Pacific. On International Women's Day, female aid workers united to urge reform, and female politicans called for higher standards in the push for gender equality.
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Australia responds to sexual misconduct reports | Parties divided on foreign donations | Australia criticised for anti-democratic slide
02 Mar, 2018
This week ACFID provided a further update on its response to sexual misconducts reports in the international development sector. This followed news that Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has asked Oxfam Australia to suspend funding to overseas operations of its UK counterpart. Also this week, ACFID’s CEO, Marc Purcell, looked ahead to 2018’s Sustainable Development Goals Summit in Melbourne and Australia’s Voluntary National Review. Debate on the foreign donations Bill intensified with Labor stating that it would not support a Bill which “punishes” charities, while the Government stated that without including charities in the scope of the Bill would render it “ineffective”.
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Myanmar crisis: sanctions, threats of suicide and diptheria | New Resources for ACNC to Police DGR | ACNC Commissioner put on notice
ACFID | 22 Dec, 2017
This week, the US imposed sanctions for alleged human rights violations and corruption in Myanmar, as Rohingya Muslims threaten suicide if they are sent back to their homeland. The National COSS Network puts the ACNC Commissioner on notice, and global civil society groups condemn the Government of Pakistan's closure of over 20 international aid agencies "without any verifiable cause".
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Australia launches the Global Women, Peace and Security Index | INGOs ordered out of Pakistan
ACFID | 15 Dec, 2017
This week, Dr Anu Mundkur, ACFID’s secondee to the Australian Civil-Military Centre, spoke at Australia’s launch of the new global Women, Peace and Security Index. ABC PM reports that many Australian charities keep silent on big issues for fear of funding cuts or political payback, and a petition calls for the resignation of new ACNC head, Dr Gary Johns. Overseas, millions of Yeminis face famine, and a horrifying estimate comes to light of the number of Rohingya muslims killed during the initial stages of the Myanmar military's 'clearance operations'.
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Charities respond to the Government’s announcement of the Electoral Funding and Disclosure Reform Bill | Appointment of the new ACNC Commissioner | Deteriorating conditions in Yemen
ACFID | 08 Dec, 2017
This week, ACFID responded to the Government's ban on foreign donations, and expressed concern over the appointment of the new charities commissioner. The UN reports on deteriorating conditions in Yemen, and advocates and NGOs from across the world get together for this year's Civil Society Week in Fiji.