Letter to Julie Bishop over NGOs

Dear Minister

You would be aware of the serious sexual assault allegations that have surfaced over the last fortnight in relation to projects run by a number of high profile Non-Government Organisations, most notably Oxfam. These allegations come at a time where Australians are becoming increasingly disillusioned with your Government’s ability to responsibly spend the taxes it collects and reign in our out-of-control debt.

I acknowledge there are many moral, political and economic reasons for the Australian Government to make overseas aid contributions, but can understand the frustration of everyday Australians when it comes to spending borrowed money on projects that are only tangentially in our national interest.

Many Australians indicated their dismay at Senator Penny Wong’s announcement on 13th February that a Labor government would seek to increase Australia’s foreign aid contribution from its already high $3.9 billion. I’ve no doubt that many of the same Australians expressed their concerns to you after your recent announcement that Australia would be contributing a further $90 million to the Julia Gillard chaired Global Partnership for Education, just hours after receiving a direct request from an American pop star for Australia to make such a donation.

As more information emerges about the alleged behaviour of Oxfam staff following the 2010 Haiti earthquake and alleged attempts by Oxfam to hide reports of this behaviour, it is becoming clear that some form of investigation into federal funding of NGOs must be undertaken.

Oxfam chief executive Mark Goldring indicated in an interview to the Guardian on February 17th that sexual abuses and misappropriations of aid funds were commonplace among NGOs operating in disaster areas. Mr Goldring went so far as to say “let’s be clear, it happens in every aid organisation.”

This came on the same day as comments from Haiti’s President Jovenel Moise that this was only one instance of an NGO engaging in reprehensible behaviour. He was reported as saying “It is not only Oxfam – there are other NGOs in the same situation, but they hide the information internally” and “the Oxfam case is the visible part of the iceberg.”

Over the last three years the Federal Government has contributed over $30 million to Oxfam Australia and over $348 million to NGOs in total. This is a significant sum of money and Australians have every right to know that their taxpayer dollars are spent wisely and morally. Australians are rightly concerned that foreign aid grants to NGOs are facilitating the sexual abuse of desperate people in the most horrific circumstances.

I ask what measures are in place to ensure that Australian aid dollars do not contribute to the abuse of these people and look forward to your reply.

Yours sincerely

Pauline Hanson

Senator for Queensland