The Readout
Work with us

Dame Meg Taylor x Aid is not development: The true character of Pacific aid

Aid is not development. Dame Meg Taylor, former Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, argues that most aid to the Pacific “comes in, it’s filtered through the system, and then it goes back to Australia”. According to Meg, Australia needs to change the way it does aid to ensure transparency and effectiveness.

Read Dame Meg Taylor and Soli Middleby’s “Aid is not Development: The True Character of Pacific Aid” here: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/dpr.12745

Spotify
Apple Podcasts

More from The Readout

October 17, 2024

Gordon Peake x People-watching in Port Moresby

According to Gordon Peake, the great game of statecraft is unfolding in PNG, where international attention is yet to trickle down to the country’s population.
Listen
October 3, 2024

Dr Mercy Masta x Gender Equality, The Pacific Way

According to Dr Mercy Masta, rethinking gender equality in the Pacific requires embracing local cultural practices and engaging men alongside women.
Listen
September 19, 2024

Martina Zapf x Lessons for Australia’s Civil Society Partnerships Fund

According to Martina Zapf, Australia’s Civil Society Partnership Fund must set its sights where civic society is most under threat and take strategic risks to meaningfully strengthen and protect civic space in the Indo-Pacific.
Listen
September 5, 2024

Dr Salmah Eva-Lina Lawrence x The Majority World – what’s in a phrase?

According to Dr Salmah Lawrence, Australia should reframe development by adopting the term "Majority World" and prioritising local leadership for truly equitable development.
Listen
August 22, 2024

The Hon Pat Conroy x Australia's International Development Policy Anniversary Event

Hear from the Hon Pat Conroy MP, Minister for International Development and the Pacific, in conversation with 50 experts on the 1st year anniversary of the International Development Policy.
Listen
July 25, 2024

David Young x Lessons learnt for fragile and conflict-affected states

According to David Young, Australia can enhance its development impact by investing in its governance and fragility capabilities, ensuring a long-term commitment to addressing complex challenges.
Listen
July 11, 2024

Aidan Craney and Yeshe Smith x Racism, Colonialism and Whiteness in Development

According to Aidan Craney and Yeshe Smith, Australia's development assistance must prioritise local leadership and dismantle colonial biases to achieve lasting impact in the Pacific.
Listen
June 27, 2024

Therese Faulkner x International Development Contractors Community Policy Priorities

According to Therese Faulkner, Australia’s development program can achieve greater impact by embracing a growth mindset, but must prioritise innovation and local engagement to make it happen.
Listen
June 13, 2024

Dr Darren Lim x Australia’s Reassessment of Economic Interdependence with China

According to Darren Lim, Australia’s security concerns are best addressed by supporting strong political and institutions in the region, including through development assistance.
Listen
May 30, 2024

Heather Murphy x Navigating the competing purposes of Australian development

According to Heather Murphy, Australia’s development program can reduce geostrategic risks and secure Australia's future through development, but must remain laser-focused on development outcomes to achieve that.
Listen
May 16, 2024

Dr Elizabeth Buchanan x The Sad State of Australia's Security Discourse

According to Dr Elizabeth Buchanan, Australia’s security and broader foreign policy discourse is lacking robustness and nuance - changes are needed to avoid group think and break free of the status quo.
Listen
May 2, 2024

Marc Purcell x The Safer World For All Campaign

According to Marc Purcell, the Safer World For All Campaign asks policymakers to put their money where their mouths are in the lead up to the 2024 budget.
Listen
April 18, 2024

Mat Tinkler x What’s the secret to a successful donor-implementer relationship?

According to Mat Tinkler, a successful donor-implementer relationship depends on trust, built through hard and honest conversations. That means implementers have to be brave, and donors have to be flexible.
Listen
April 4, 2024

Sue Robertson x ‘There but for the grace of God…’ – reflections on leading the APS Integrity Taskforce

Australian Government integrity overseas starts with demonstrating integrity at home. According to Sue Robertson, leader of the APS Integrity Taskforce, investing in the psychological safety and contestability of the public service will deliver better foreign policy results for Australia.
Listen
March 21, 2024

Mira Sulistiyanto x Pulse Check Indonesia

Mira Sulistiyanto dives into the insights and ideas of Indonesian non-government experts in the Lab’s Pulse Check x Indonesia report and interactive website.
Listen
March 7, 2024

Hervé Lemahieu x How Australia Can Unleash Its Own “Brussels Effect” in the Pacific Island Region

According to Hervé Lemahieu, borrowing some of the logic of European integration and applying these concepts in the Pacific would better equip the region to advance its collective interests.
Listen
February 22, 2024

Lisa Denney x Diverse Pathways to People Centred Justice

According to Lisa Denney, Australia should support the diverse ways people in the region access justice, beyond that of policing and the formal sector.
Listen
February 2, 2024

Stephen Howes x Tuvalu election and the Falepili Union

According to Stephen Howes, a visa-free Pacific is the new frontier of Australian development
Listen
January 25, 2024

Dr Mike Green x The main game for Australian development is development, not building influence

According to Dr Mike Green, focusing on development outcomes, not influence, leads to better long-term strategic outcomes.
Listen
January 25, 2024

Jane Edge x Disability Equity and Rights Strategy - what's critical for effectiveness?

According to Jane Edge, substantive change for people with disability requires real listening, responding and resourcing of the disability movement.
Listen
January 25, 2024

Melissa Conley Tyler x What does it look like for Australia to take a whole-of-nation approach to international policy?

According to Melissa Conley Tyler, in this difficult world, Australia needs a whole-of-nation approach to foreign policy. But what does that mean in practice?
Listen
January 25, 2024

Natalie Sambhi x Generals gaining ground: Civil-military relations and democracy in Indonesia

According to Natalie Sambhi, Indonesia’s expanded military role in civilian government will be something to watch for Australia following Indonesia’s February election.
Listen
December 4, 2023

Solstice Middleby x Aid is not development: The true character of Pacific aid, part 2

According to Solstice Middleby, the aid industry is not tooled to deliver on the needs of the Pacific peoples.
Listen
December 4, 2023

Diastika Rahwidiati x Australia in Southeast Asia: Do we have the development skills, stamina, and leadership?

According to Diastika Rahwidiati, Australia must learn from its investments.
Listen
December 4, 2023

Richard Moore x Australian Development Cooperation: Urgent and important, but “not a priority”

According to Richard Moore, little has changed in Australia’s international development policy since the DFAT-AusAID merger.
Listen
November 16, 2023

Reintroducing: The Readout

Each episode, you'll meet one development leader, hear their big idea and discover how it can shape the future of Australian development assistance.
Listen
July 20, 2023

The Readout - Series 3 Episode 5

Jo Choe and James Gilling again join Bridi Rice to discuss Indonesia and Solomon Islands, SDG progress, and approaches to addressing climate.
Listen
July 6, 2023

The Readout - Series 3 Episode 4

Jo Choe and James Gilling again join Bridi Rice to discuss Australia’s ODI ranking, SEA development, and USAID’s localisation targets.
Listen
June 19, 2023

The Readout - Series 3 Episode 3

Jo Choe and James Gilling again join Bridi Rice to discuss donors in the region, disruptions to traditional development, and a possible program reset.
Listen
June 2, 2023

The Readout — Series 3 Episode 2

Jo Choe and James Gilling return to discuss the Biden no-show, all tools of statecraft, and the value of effective country planning.
Listen
May 18, 2023

The Readout — Series 3 Episode 1

Jo Choe and James Gilling join The Lab's Bridi Rice to discuss the Federal Budget, DFAT capability and the imminent development policy in the first episode of a new fortnightly series..
Listen
May 13, 2022

Special Episode: Anka Lee Situation Room Address

Hear from Anka Lee, USAID’s acting Deputy Assistant Administrator and Senior Advisor for the PRC, on how USAID is approaching growing Chinese influence.
Listen
December 13, 2021

A US Perspective

We’ve heard a lot of about the different approaches of the US compared with Australia. So how does the US go about democracy promotion?
Listen
December 13, 2021

A Security Perspective

We’ve heard why governance support is critical for prosperity in the region. But just how seriously should Australia take this?
Listen
December 12, 2021

A Practitioner Perspective

What exactly does ‘democracy promotion’ mean in real terms? How do practitioners approach the work? And what’s the challenge with adopting a US-style approach?
Listen
December 11, 2021

A Summit for Democracy

President Biden has just held the first Summit for Democracy. What will it mean for the Indo-Pacific?
Listen
December 10, 2021

A Pacific Perspective

To learn more about the state of democracy, and what the Summit will mean for the region, let’s start where we should – with a Pacific perspective.
Listen
The Intel
The Pitch
Situation Room
The Readout
Our Analysis
Pulse Check
Who We Are
What We Do
Contact Us
Join the Lab
Development Intelligence Lab
7 Murray Cr, Griffith  ACT  2603
ABN 33 649 372 529
Privacy Policy. Terms & Conditions.
We respectfully acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on which The Lab listens, thinks and does its work. We pay respect to the First Nations Peoples and their elders, past, present and future.