"This new commitment to East Timor comes in an aid budget which remains at the lowest ever level - 0.25% GNP ($1599.3m). Last year's crises in Kosovo, East Timor, Mozambique and elsewhere pushed the actual expenditure on development assistance to $1651.1m, or 0.27% GNP.
"We have given the well-off big tax cuts, and foregone the Timor levy, but plan to give less aid in the coming year than we spent in 1999-2000. It is lack of political will like this which is worsening the gap between the rich and the poor worldwide. Can we really not afford to do more?"
"Not only is actual expenditure expected to be lower in 2000-2001, the dollar increase of $100m on last year's budget does not match the growth in our economy, so against the internationally-recognised measure for aid - the percentage of GNP provided - we remain a very ungenerous nation.
"This is not in line with community sentiment. People don't want a world which is so polarised. In 1999 the community raised 20% more funds for international assistance than in the previous year - a total of $260m."
Australia's contribution to the $800m reconstruction costs requested at the Tokyo Donors' conference in December last year will make Australia one of the larger donors to East Timor.
To date only 12% of the funds promised at the December 1999 Tokyo East Timor Donor's Conference have actually been received by the World Bank for its major East Timor Trust Fund.
"Far more funds are being spent on peacekeeping than on helping the Timorese people to rebuild their shattered country", says Executive Director, Janet Hunt.
Contacts: Canberra: Janet Hunt
(02) 6281 9216 or (m) 0411 868 174 or
Perth: Sir Ronald Wilson, President, ACFOA, (08) 9364 958
