Australia shows the way

Reports on today's news (13 May 2013) have stated that during tomorrow's budget the Australian government are to cut billions of dollars from their foreign aid budget and the unemployed are to receive extra money to help them survive on the dole and help them get back into the workforce.

Australia plans to cut foreign aid by around 3 billion dollars by deferring a promise to increase spending for the second year in a row and are spending an extra 300 million dollars helping the unemployed.

Mark Purcell from the council for International Development stated "Hundreds of millions of dollars spent in Australia is not going to help the poor of the world".

Well Mr Purcell, the taxes raised from Australians should be spent on Australians first. It is not the Australian governments job to financially assist the whole world.

Here in the UK David Cameron is refusing to cut the foreign aid budget preferring to target those on benefits and public sector workers to make the necessary savings instead. He has pledged to give 11 billion pounds per year in foreign aid.

While in the UK people are struggling to buy food.

13 million people live below the poverty line in the UK. The Trussell Trust, which now operates more than 300 food banks in the UK, has seen demand for its service increase year on year since the 2008/09 financial crisis. In 2011/12, 128,697 emergency food parcels were handed out – up from just 26,000 in 2008/9. In 2012-13 foodbanks fed 346,992 people nationwide. Of those helped, 126,889 were children. Half a million people a year will be in receipt of a food parcel by 2016, by which time there are expected to be 500 food banks.

Charity begins at home Mr Cameron. Cut foreign aid not benefits given to British people who are unemployed or on low wages because your government has made a mess of the economy.

Floods in Australia

The state of Queensland in Australia has been hit with massive flooding.

Officials say half of Queensland's 1 852 642km² is affected by the relentless flooding, which began after days of pounding rain caused swollen rivers to overflow. The flood zone covers an area larger than France and Germany combined and bigger than the state of Texas.

The floods have affected about 200,000 people and an estimated 22 towns have been left isolated or inundated by the rising waters, with fears that the damage could cost billions of Australian dollars to repair. So far 10 people have died.


The governments of New Zealand and the USA have offered aid. The silence from the British government is deafening.

When there was flooding in Pakistan there were endless appeals for money. £144 million was provided by the British government alone; more by UK based aid agencies. Where are the appeals to help people, who are mainly of British descent, in Australia?

The entire population of two towns has already been forced to evacuate as water swamped their communities, cutting off roads and devastating crops.

People are facing food shortages and serious public health risks as a result of the floods. The muddy water inundating thousands of homes and businesses has led to a shortage of drinking water and raised fears of mosquito-borne disease.

If you wish to help click here.

Haiti, Madeira and Cumbria

Recently we've been inundated with appeals to give money to Haiti following an earthquake on 12 January. Britons have given £23 million in aid. A charity single has been released and there are still people queuing up to ask for our money.

On 20 February mudslides and flash flooding on the Portugese island of Madiera lead to the loss of 42 lives including 1 Briton. This hasn't had the same impact with the media. No appeals and no charity singles.

Madeira

In November there were floods in Cumbria. 1 person died and more than 200 people had to be rescued in Cockermouth. Again there were no aid appeals or charity singles.

Cumbria

Why the difference?

Is it that the people of Madiera and Cumbria are white and so not as important as the blacks in Haiti?

It would certainly appear so as far as the charity single is concerned. Simon Cowell, the man behind the song for Haiti, is well known as a race mixing piece of filth. No surprise that he did nothing for Cumbria or Madeira.

Does anyone actually know where the £23 million has been spent?

In 1984-1985 there were appeals for the victims of the Ethiopian famine. The UK public gave £5m in three days, there was a Band Aid single, which raised £8 million, and huge Live Aid concerts in London and Philidelphia which are estimated to have raised £150m. We've only now found out that $100 million of aid money went through rebel groups trying to overthrow the government. 95% of it was spent on buying weapons and building up a hard-line Marxist political party within the rebel movement.

If you've considering giving money to relieve the suffering in a third world country because of emotional images you've seen on the TV, do you actually know where your money is going? Are you funding a war? And isn't it time to look after our own people first?