16 July 2007

MPs to receive Fair Play Awards for effort on international aid

Some of the country's politicians are getting a half-time thumbs up this week. However, this is definitely a game of two halves and the second half will be challenging.

In the spirit of what's going to be a long game on international aid, politicians from most parties are getting an award for a good first half performance.

The event marks the half-way point of the Millennium Development Goals - eight international targets aimed at significantly reducing poverty by 2015.

"We're awarding Fair Play Awards to MPs from all parties even though it's clear that there are varying levels of support for the goals from individual MPs as well as their parties", says Council for International Development Executive Director, Rae Julian.

Sports broadcaster John McBeth will be handing out the awards, along with a former All Black. The sporting theme continues with celebrated photographer Peter Bush also in the line up behind his camera.

"This is a celebration of where we've got to so far," says Rae Julian. "We are focusing on the recent lift in performance by the government and hoping that they will keep this impetus up for a better play in the second half."

In 2000, world leaders, including Prime Minister Helen Clark, signed up to the eight goals which aimed, among other things, to halve the number of people living on less than US$1-a-day by 2015.

Yet, seven years on and half way to the final whistle, progress has been patchy and some areas, including much of the Pacific, are unlikely to achieve those goals. New Zealand has been trailing near the back of the international field compared to other countries in our level of international aid despite the significant increase in aid this year.

Currently, New Zealand gives 0.3 percent of GNI in aid and the Government's promised to increase that to 0.35 percent by 2010. While this is the most significant increase in recent years, it still doesn't put us on track to giving 0.7 percent in aid by 2015 - as was our international promise.

We are hoping to persuade the current Labour-led coalition government to commit to the rest of the way. National and Act also need encouragement to at least support the current government's commitment.

"The 0.7 percent goal is not an arbitrary line in the sand. It has been calculated as the level of aid that developed countries must give in order to achieve the MDGs. All developed countries, including New Zealand, need to meet their commitments over this.

ENDS

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