Australian aid's unanswered questions

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade will appear at Australia’s Parliament House for Senate estimates, answering questions on its programs and policies to bring greater transparency on how it operates. The department’s last appearance was in March, with questions drawing attention to official COVID-19 numbers from Papua New Guinea being lower than the reality. While DFAT staff are expected to provide as much detail as possible to questions as they are asked, they can take questions “on notice” and provide written responses after getting further information. Currently, 24 requests for information from the March period remain unanswered — and overdue for a response. How is Australia responding to the Myanmar military coup? Australia’s response to the Myanmar crisis has been criticized as being “slow,” with suggestions that Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne has provided no clear action in response. In March, Australia’s response focused on questioning at estimates with a number of critical questions remaining unanswered. Penny Wong, the shadow minister for foreign affairs, asked Payne about their immediate response: “Was any communication, formal or otherwise, from our government to the Tatmadaw prior to 1 February about the need to respect democratic processes? Specifically, did you or the defence minister raise any concerns about the need to respect democratic processes with anyone either in the Tatmadaw or in the then government, or both, prior to 1 February?” Later, on March 17, the 33rd ASEAN-Australia Forum was attended by a representative of Myanmar despite this not being noted in the DFAT report of the meeting. The attendance of a member of the junta in an official capacity led Greens senator Janet Rice to ask questions at estimates on this interaction: Who was the Myanmar official who took part? Does this not legitimize the junta? Rice also had questions on the advice the Australian government was providing to Australian-owned businesses in Myanmar: “Has the Australian government issued any business advice to Australian companies investing in Myanmar, cautioning them to review their investments and whether they may directly or indirectly be profiting the junta?” “What advice is DFAT providing to ASX listed and private mining, gas, and oil companies in relation to suspending operations and limiting financial payments or in-kind payments to the Myanmar military-controlled government?” These questions on Myanmar, which would provide important insight into Australia’s response, remain unanswered. How do you interpret Australia’s development assistance budget? How much Australia spends on development assistance, where it goes, what ODA is eligible, and how funds are being diverted in response to COVID-19 are questions that continue to be a priority at estimates. With DFAT’s headline ODA numbers not including all ODA-eligible funds, it will raise more questions this week. But there are still unanswered questions from March. Labor senator Kimberley Kitching also asked for clarity on which government departments will be assisting in delivering development assistance until 2024. Associated with the 2020-21 financial year COVID-19 response, Wong asked DFAT to provide information on the $103 million Australian dollars ($80 million) that was expected to be spent — but had no information on which agency was responsible and how it would be spent. DFAT did expect it to be ODA eligible. Wong further questioned how DFAT would report on development assistance under their new aid policy. March estimates confirmed a move towards reporting under three key pillars of the new policy which would create challenges to track aid spending over time. “I'd like to understand how you are applying the internal three pillars and where the previous investment priorities and ODA sectoral classifications will fit,” Wong said. “Can you do that?” giving DFAT the challenge of showing how much was spent on health in Samoa in 2017 and how much is spent in 2022, DFAT confirmed they would be able to provide answers to Parliament. They are still waiting for that response. How is Australia supporting vaccine delivery in the Indo-Pacific region? Australia’s contribution in supporting vaccine equity has focused primarily on the Indo-Pacific region. In October 2020, a media release said Australia would secure access to vaccines for the Pacific and Southeast Asia through purchase agreements with manufacturers and in participation with COVAX. In March, it remained unclear how this would be done, leading to questions from Kitching regarding the number of advance purchase agreements the Australian Government entered with manufacturers for vaccine doses for the Pacific or Southeast Asia and how many vaccine doses had been secured in total. While the new minister for international development and the Pacific, Zed Seselja, is actively tweeting on Australia’s support, DFAT is still to supply an official response to these questions. How is Australia committing to climate action? Heading into COP 26, Australia’s policies on climate change and commitment to climate action are of global concern — especially to its Pacific neighbors facing a rising sea level. After U.S. President Joe Biden was inaugurated and introduced a net-zero emissions target by 2050, the pressure mounted. How Australia responded was a question Wong wanted to be answered directly by Payne. “Have you welcomed it or are you just acknowledging it?” Wong asked. “I don't have that language with me,” Payne responded. Taking it on notice to supply the actual words delivered as part of official engagements with the new U.S. government, the words are still missing from Parliament records. There are other climate questions DFAT has yet to answer — the number of nations committing to net zero emissions by 2050 and lists of countries expected to lodge new or updated nationally determined contributions for COP26. How much did Australia pay to support Mathias Cormann’s OECD bid? This week, Mathias Cormann took up his new role as head of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Cormann was previously Australia’s finance minister, and he received a range of support from Australia as he campaigned for the role of OECD’s head — including the use of official government planes and DFAT staff to assist with the campaign. How much was contributed by DFAT was the subject of a question on notice by Labor senator Kristina Keneally in March: “Please provide details of any costs met by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in connection with Mr. Cormann's job application for Secretary of the OECD.” The financial contribution and how it impacted DFAT’s budget remains unknown.