Communications Manager

Te Kaunihera mo te Whakapakari Ao Whanui Ao Aotearoa/Council for International Development

NGOs ask what problem Murray McCully is trying to fix

Proposals to change the policy and status of the government aid agency appear to have no clear purpose says Council for International Development executive director David Culverhouse.

“Embarking on a needless reorganisation, with no evidence that this will increase aid effectiveness or deliver better value for money, hardly squares with the present government’s cost cutting agenda.”

Foreign Minister Murray McCully is reported as saying NZAID’s focus is too broad and that it needs to concentrate more on the Pacific.

“Given New Zealand’s limited aid capacity, a clear policy focus is essential. Changing the status of NZAID from a semi-autonomous agency which focuses solely on delivering effective aid, to being a part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, shifts the focus from the long-term needs of people in developing countries to whatever suits the political agenda of the government of the day,” Mr Culverhouse says.

Fifty-three percent of New Zealand’s Official Development Assistance is already spent within the Pacific region and this amount has been steadily increasing. In recent years NZAID has reduced the number of countries it works in, to better focus New Zealand’s aid effort.

“The basis of economic development is a well-educated, well-nourished, healthy population. Getting rid of poverty is by far the most effective way to build a country’s capacity to stand on its own feet.

“Independent reviews by the OECD Development Assistance Committee and by former National Party MP and academic Marilyn Waring have judged NZAID to be a highly effective and world leading agency. We risk losing these gains if development becomes subject to the policy whims of every new government. Why fix it if it isn’t broken?

“New Zealanders footing the bill for our development assistance expect to see it helping the poor, not being used as a political football,” says Mr Culverhouse.

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