In 1998, there was a fundamental realignment of Australia’s aid programme under the Government’s new framework, Better Aid for a Better Future. Australian capacity to respond to the urgent demands of the Asian economic crisis and a series of natural disasters to our important neighbouring country, Papua New Guinea, was due in no small measure to the changes put in place in this new framework.
Australia played an active role in helping countries deal with the impacts of the regional economic crisis. Our response through the aid programme was targeted at a number of levels. Australia used its influence in international forums to ensure active participation by other donors, including international agencies, in responding to the crisis. Earlier last year, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Mr Alexander Downer, met the President of the World Bank to urge the bank to take a leading role in co-ordinating assistance. He also met the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund and stressed the importance of ensuring that the social costs of the crisis were not overlooked in pursuing economic reforms.
To maintain the momentum of an effective international response, Mr Downer plans to convene a meeting in the near future on Ministers from major donor and recipient countries in the region. The meeting will focus on the long-term development challenges facing the region and what needs to be done to restore growth. Through the aid programme, Australia provided additional resources to the worst affected countries including Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam. In Indonesia alone, Canberra increased total aid flows by 25 per cent compared with the previous year. Much of this has focused on helping people cope with the crisis by providing aid and essential medicines.