At the inaugural aid supplier conference of Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, Australia’s minister for international development and the Pacific, discussed the private sector’s role in delivering the “complex challenges of an aid program.”
After the conference, Devex sat down with Fierravanti-Wells to discuss a range of topics impacting overseas development in Australia and internationally. In part one of our interview, the minister talks about reframing the aid program, private sector engagement, the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump, and the value of innovation competitions. Here is the conversation, edited for length and clarity.
You discussed the need for bringing the Australian public into the aid program. What are some of the strategies needed by the government, nongovernmental organizations and the private sector to better educate the Australian public on the aid program?
About the author
Lisa Cornishlisa_cornish
Lisa Cornish is a former Devex Senior Reporter based in Canberra, where she focuses on the Australian aid community. Lisa has worked with News Corp Australia as a data journalist and has been published throughout Australia in the Daily Telegraph in Melbourne, Herald Sun in Melbourne, Courier-Mail in Brisbane, and online through news.com.au. Lisa additionally consults with Australian government providing data analytics, reporting and visualization services.
