(Australia) Julie Bishop: Australia will use private firms like Coca-Cola to deliver aid

http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/jun/29/julie-bishop-australia-will-use-private-enterprises-like-coca-cola-to-deliver-aid



Foreign minister tells Liberal federal council that there is too much waste in aid spending and partnering with the private sector will achieve better results

Julie Bishop: Australia will use private firms like Coca-Cola to deliver aid
Calla Wahlquist
Monday 29 June 2015 05.14 EDT

The Australian government will partner with private companies such as Coca-Cola to distribute medical aid, foreign minister Julie Bishop has said.

Speaking at the Liberal federal council on Saturday, Bishop said she was not satisfied with the way Australia had distributed aid in the past, saying there was, “too much duplication, too much waste, not enough of a focus, spending money, doing what we’ve always done and not coming up with a better result.”

Bishop said move toward private sector networks was part of a focus on the “economic security for the recipients of our aid.”

The foreign aid budget is set to lose $4bn a year over the next four years. The cuts, outlined in the 2015 federal budget, will put Australia’s foreign aid spend relative to income at the lowest levels since a formal aid program was introduced 40 years ago.