Bracks Warns Overseas Aid Must Foster Autonomy

The Age

Friday June 13, 2008

Daniel Flitton, Diplomatic Editor

THE Federal Government should urgently overhaul Australia's overseas aid program, according to former premier Steve Bracks.

Mr Bracks, who has acted as an adviser to the East Timor Government during much of the past year, said Australia's priority should be to help fragile regional countries make independent decisions.

"We've looked for delivery mechanisms which are top-down from the Australian Government perspective, rather than top-down from the (local) government's perspective," he said. "If foreign aid by itself were the only determinant of success, then we wouldn't have any significant development issues in our region. It's not to say the money shouldn't flow, but it should flow as a consequence, not as an inducement to a particular model."

Mr Bracks will outline his proposal in Melbourne tonight as part of the Alfred Deakin lecture series.

The East Timor role has taken him to Australia's northern neighbour every few weeks since leaving office in July, offering political advice to Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao, who is holding together a fragile governing coalition. Mr Bracks, who cut his teeth on the kitchen-table politics of a rich Western country, might seem an odd choice to help a young and poor country to cope with development challenges. But he insists the experience has given him plenty of insights.

His main project in East Timor has been to establish an independent civil service commission, to ensure the Dili Government has a reliable workforce with expertise to deliver on its promises. Mr Bracks says his own political experience showed him any government must invest in spreading its message, to its own citizens and an international audience, helping to manage people's expectations and foster calm during a crisis.

Rebel gunmen nearly killed the popular President and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Jose Ramos Horta, in February, and Mr Gusmao was also targeted. More Australian troops rushed north, preparing for a fresh round of chaos, yet East Timor has largely stayed quiet, something Mr Bracks says is a tribute to the leadership style adopted by Mr Gusmao.

From this experience, Mr Bracks identifies lessons for Australia's engagement with fragile neighbours. "I think it's a wider issue than simply arguing for more foreign aid or more support. It's about targeted, effective support to assist governments operating autonomously and to make their own decisions," he said.

The Alfred Deakin Lectures, "New Internationalism", will be held at 6 o'clock tonight at BMW Edge.

© 2008 The Age

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