- The Strategist - https://www.aspistrategist.org.au -
Fifty years of Foreign Affairs: the anaemia problem
Posted By Graeme Dobell on December 7, 2020 @ 06:00
Since 2013, Australia’s total diplomatic, trade and aid budgets have fallen from 1.5% of the federal budget to 1.3%. In pure dollar terms, this is a fall from A$8.3 billion to A$6.7 billion. At the same time, the budgets for defence, intelligence and security have ballooned. In the almost two decades since the September 11 terror attacks, the Department of Defence budget has increased by 291%, while the allocation for the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation has grown by 528% and the Australian Secret Intelligence Service by 578%.
DFAT is not seen by other government agencies, or by some of its own people, as performing as well in Canberra as it does overseas. It is perceived as being distant from policy processes outside traditional national security and trade areas, even on issues like the global economy or energy where it has something to bring to the table.
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URL to article: https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/fifty-years-of-foreign-affairs-the-anaemia-problem/
[1] Anaemia: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/anemia/symptoms-causes/syc-20351360
[2] born in November 1970: https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/fifty-years-of-the-department-of-foreign-affairs/
[3] great department of state: https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/fifty-years-of-foreign-affairs-as-a-great-department/
[4] 1986 review of Australia’s overseas representation: https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/8951793?keyword=%22review%20of%20Australia%27s%20Overseas%20Representation%22
[5] ‘diplomatic deficit’: http://archive.lowyinstitute.org/sites/default/files/pubfiles/BlueRibbonPanelReport_WEB_1.pdf
[6] ‘diplomatic disrepair’: https://archive.lowyinstitute.org/publications/diplomatic-disrepair-rebuilding-australia-international-policy-infrastructure
[7] ‘chronic underfunding’: https://www.aph.gov.au/parliamentary_Business/Committees/House_of_Representatives_Committees?url=jfadt/overseas%20representation/report/full.pdf
[8] capability review: https://www.apsc.gov.au/sites/default/files/Capability-review-DFAT-final-for-accessiblity.pdf
[9] Melissa Conley Tyler’s: https://theconversation.com/australia-is-spending-less-on-diplomacy-than-ever-before-and-its-influence-is-suffering-as-a-result-125722
[10] Australian Foreign Affairs: https://www.australianforeignaffairs.com/essay/2019/10/china-dependence
[11] from A$8.3 billion to A$6.7 billion: https://www.australianforeignaffairs.com/articles/the-fix/2019/10/the-fix-melissa-conley-tyler-on-how-to-rebuild-australias-diplomatic
[12] $4 billion aid: https://www.dfat.gov.au/sites/default/files/pbs-2020-21-dfat-aid-budget-summary.pdf
[13] 1.7 million passports: https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/policy-guns-and-money-us-election-disinformation-chinas-soft-power-and-data-digitisation/
[14] 1,400 active consular cases: https://www.dfat.gov.au/sites/default/files/consular-state-of-play-2018-19.pdf
[15] staff in Oz overseas posts: https://www.dfat.gov.au/news/speeches/Pages/institute-of-public-administration-australia-secretarys-series
[16] trade and investment: https://www.dfat.gov.au/sites/default/files/pbs-2020-21-department-of-foreign-affairs-and-trade-dfat.pdf
[17] international agricultural research: https://www.dfat.gov.au/sites/default/files/pbs-2020-21-australian-centre-for-international-agricultural-research-aciar.pdf
[18] spying: https://www.dfat.gov.au/sites/default/files/pbs-2020-21-australian-secret-intelligence-service-asis.pdf
[19] tourism: https://www.dfat.gov.au/sites/default/files/pbs-2020-21-tourism-australia.pdf