Australia’s federal budget has spared foreign aid from further cuts, but there has been no reprieve from the 3.7 billion Australian dollars ($2.92 billion) in cuts announced in December.
Released May 12 in Canberra, the 2015-16 budget unveils the full impact of the cuts to the aid budget: AU$1 billion will be slashed for the 2015-16 financial year, followed by reductions of AU$1.35 billion and AU$1.37 billion in subsequent years.
By the 2017-18 financial year, Australia’s foreign aid budget will drop to just AU$3.9 billion, down nearly AU$2 billion from its 2013-14 allocation.