The Turnbull Government's new Foreign Policy White Paper is a missed opportunity for Australia to show bold and determined leadership in the fight to end extreme poverty. Yet for all the lofty talk and rhetoric, the new approach is lacking in substance when it comes to recognising Australian Aid as a core foreign policy priority. That the new foreign policy paper is meant as a long-term comprehensive policy framework, designed to lay out overall priorities as opposed to propose specific measures, is no excuse for this admission. Despite accounting for a much smaller percentage of government spending, however, no such increased commitment to Australian Aid accompanied the launch of the Foreign Policy White Paper. Ultimately, much will be written about the merits and shortfalls of the new Foreign Policy paper in coming days.

Source: Huffington Post November 27, 2017 00:11 UTC