As new budget cycle approaches, unpredictability hounds Australian aid

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull recently announced that he may call a double dissolution election for July 2 this year which would dissolve both upper and lower houses of the federal Parliament and require all members to seek re-election.

The maneuver was an attempt to force the hand of the Senate in passing legislation introduced by the Turnbull government for building industry reform which failed in Canberra on Monday. The failure was generally expected. To clear the way for a July 2 election, the 2016 budget night was moved up from its traditional slot of the second Tuesday in May to a week earlier on May 3.

Among an already apprehensive group of development organizations pushing for greater investment in foreign aid, the legislative announcements are likely to cause greater anxiety. Facing a more aggressive deadline, these groups will have less time to make their case to both lawmakers and the Australian public. They will also be negotiating with a new minister for international development and the Pacific who has been in her new role for just over a month.