The Last Word

What should I do the night before the exams? Well, this is what I would do:

1. Refresh the skills mentioned on the syllabus (5A3 and 5A4). Practise one or two of each and say the rules out loud. These are easy marks on offer. (Remember to bring your calculator to the exam.)

2. Look at the 'Learn about' and 'Learn to' on the syllabus topics and use your summary notes to do a 1/2 page summary or mind map for key sectiosn of the syllabus topics. Use the 'learn to' column to guide a potential short answer or extended response question.

3. Check the news for examples that could be used in your answers. 'Project Sydney' relates to a series of newspaper articles runs by the Sydney Morning Herald to tackle issues related to Urban growth/sprawl. The Ocean Viking is a customs boat that is currently housing Sri Lankan asylum seekers that will not get off the boat to return home because they claim they are genuine refugees. This story is an excellent example of the issue of Human Rights.

4. Finally, the paper is also testing citizenship skills. Understanding the nature and impact of an issue (or problem) is important. So too is the response by individuals, groups (by name) and governments (Local, State, Federal). Have something to say about what is being done or could be done to improve the issue. Be specific - don't waffle and be vague.

5. If you have time and haven't done it already - review some more past papers on the BOS website to get used to the tyle of questions (Multiple choice and short answers/ extended response).

Good luck. May the ecological force be with you!!

Indonesian and Samoan earthquakes

These two countries have been devasted by a major earthquake and tsunami within 24 hours. The loss of human life, homelessness, food shortages, and long term economic impacts presents Australia with the opportunity to implement an aid program such as what has been studied in Year 10 Geography. Residents of these countries will be praying that the program is mobilised quickly and with the desired impact.

Look at the scenes of destruction:



Look at the Ausaid website to view the media release by the Government that has initiated an aid program. It will change as the needs of these two countries become apparent.

http://www.ausaid.gov.au/

How can NGO's and Ausaid combine efficiently to provide aid?

The concept of aid is regarded as a worthwhile thing, however, the issue about how, where and who the aid should be administered to is often open to public debate. Public funds should always be subject to scrutiny and therefore how Ausaid distributes their funds is of particular interest.

The Ausaid NGO Cooperation Program was established to ensure that funding for aid is given to accredited NGO's to ensure that the aid is delivered in accordance with the public scrutiny. To be eligble, NGO's must submit an Annual Development Plan that shows what they wish to achieve with the funds from Ausaid and other sources.

The system obviously does not guarantee that funds are not wasted, but it does put some focus on accountability of funds. The issue of adminstration costs could potentially undermine the efficiency of both Ausaid and NGO's, however, these organisations must employ many people and endure running costs for them to be able to do their work.

Click on this link to find out more about how Ausaid and NGO's work together.

http://www.ausaid.gov.au/ngos/ancp.cfm

Benefits of foreign aid outweigh costs

There is often criticism about government funds being used to support foreign aid when there are hospitals, schools, roads and other infrastructure requirements within Australia needing funding. With tens of thousands of Australians homeless and reliant on charity to live from day to day, there seems to be some validity to this thought.

In addition to this dilemma, there is the environmental and social costs to the recipient countries who are often railroaded by the donor countries and can suffer with unwanted changes to their environment and their culture.

To clarify the debate, there should be a distinction between whether foreign aid is worthwhile and how it is delivered. The effectiveness of getting the right type and amount of aid to the right people at the right time will impact whether it has the desired impact. If it is not done properly, then it will make people think that the costs outweigh the benefits.

However, I would argue that the benefits overall exceed the costs because the humanitarian costs of saving lives in the short term and building up independence by creating opportunities for economic growth in the long term has been proven as indisputably worthwhile. The challenge is to reduce the costs to recipient countries so the benefits for all are enhanced.

The following video talks at little about food aid and how it could be done better. It also mentions 5 million children will die this year due to malnutrition.

AusAid

Although Australia's aid budget is below the UN suggestion of 0.70% of Gross National Income (GNI), at .25% it still translates to a lot of money. To best deploy these funds to needy causes there must be a strategy and method for getting value for money. AusAid is the government authority charged with the responsibility of spending the aid budget. They work closely with NGO's (Non-government organisations) to turn these funds into aid that will fulfill their objectives.

The objectives are varied, but revolve around long term and short term initatives. The short term objectives are usually based on disaster relief (eg: 2004 Tsunami) whre emergency medical and food drops are required. The long term objectives are based around education (seen as a means of overcoming imbedded poverty), and good governance(aimed at encouraging better and stronger political systems to ensure corruption and civil unrest is kept at bay).

The work being done by AusAid is indisputably beneficial to all parties. The issue is whether the aid is being deployed effectively and efficiently. By that I mean, does AusAid spend the aid budget in the best possible way?

Kevin Rudd's Apology

Mr Rudd's apology to indigenous Australians was long overdue. Some may say it was politically motivated because it gave Rudd one up on John Howard who refused to say the word "sorry" even though he was pro-reconciliation. The fact is however, Reconciliation requires recognition but also action to facilitate justice and healing.

While the apology was crucial as a first step, the more lasting impact of Rudd's speech will be whether there is any discernible changes in the lives of indigenous Australians. In particular, increases in life expectancy, health indicator, education levels and housing. As they say, "action speaks louder than words", but Reconciliation has started. Lets see where it finishes.