Stop the Cut to Foreign Aid

Stop the Cut to Foreign Aid

24 hours before Australians head to the polls, the Uniting Church in Australia encourages people of faith to urge the Coalition: if elected, stop the cut to foreign aid.

If elected, the Coalition’s plans to slash 4.5 billion dollars of promised foreign aid over the next four years will hurt those who need our assistance most says Rev. Dr Kerry Enright, Director of UnitingWorld, the Uniting Church in Australia’s international development agency.

“The Australian economy is one of the strongest in the world and our living standards are among the highest. We can afford to be generous while meeting our domestic needs,” said Rev. Dr Enright.

“The idea that Australia has to grow its economy further before it can be generous and fair to the world’s poorest people is ludicrous, and morally wrong.”

“The Opposition’s plans to increase military and defence budgets instead of keeping their promise to grow our overseas aid spending is short sighted. We know that spending on aid leads to a safer, more stable region.”

The Uniting Church in Australia has previously welcomed the strong bipartisan commitment of the Government and the Opposition to increase the foreign aid budget to 0.5 per cent of national income by 2015.

“Cutting $4.5 billion in foreign aid would mean that 450,000 lives that Australia had the opportunity to save will now be lost,” said Rev. Dr Enright.

“We know governments need to make difficult spending decisions. But what would it feel like to drive on the roads funded by the proposed cuts to foreign aid?”

The Uniting Church is encouraging its members to urge the Coalition, if elected on Saturday, to break their election promise to cut foreign aid.

The Micah Challenge, a coalition of Christian agencies, churches and individuals, is urging people to write to Tony Abbott, asking him to stop the cut to foreign aid if he is elected. You can join the action here: https://www.micahchallenge.org.au/take-action.

Contact:                     

Tilly South               

0422 998 155

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