Countries in the Global South are facing the climate crisis, a public health crisis, and an economic crisis.
As a wealthy, colonial country, Australia has a responsibility to contribute its fair share of aid – and pay reparations for its role in the climate crisis and the ongoing damage caused by Western imperialism.
Let’s reimagine aid not simply as charity but as an issue of global justice.
Aid should never be a way to further our national ambitions or greedy trade interests. Aid programs should work to right historical wrongs and build communities in parts of the world that have been left destitute.
Australia must decolonise international aid and reset its thinking about debt, obligation and global poverty.
The ongoing impacts of the legacy of colonialism means aid and reparations are a debt owed, not a favour bestowed.