Julie Bishop to question Joe Hockey over reports of possible foreign aid cuts in next budget


Foreign Minister Julie Bishop says she plans to question Treasurer Joe Hockey about a report suggesting the aid budget is likely to suffer more cuts in May.

Foreign aid has taken significant hits in recent budgets and The Australian has reported it is likely to suffer another small cut in May.

But Ms Bishop said the cuts were news to her.

"I'm not aware of that detail, so I read that for the first time in Greg Sheridan's column today," Ms Bishop said.

When asked on Radio National whether she would be aware if her budget was going to be cut again Ms Bishop said, "well you'd hope I would be, wouldn't you?"

"So I'll certainly be taking that up with the Treasurer to find out the source of that story."

Later in the morning, Ms Bishop was asked by reporters who was leaking the reports.

"Well it's certainly not me, because I'm not aware of it," she said.

"I don't know ... we'll have to ask Greg Sheridan who his source was."

She said she had not yet had a phone call from Mr Hockey.

Ms Bishop also said she did not think there was room for more cuts to the aid portfolio.

"I think we have it about right, but if the Labor party were prepared to pass the savings that they introduced — the $5 billion worth of savings — then there would be no need to look further at the aid budget," she said.

The ABC put a series of questions to Mr Hockey's office about the story but his spokesman said: "the Treasurer is not engaging in budget speculation".

The Social Services Minister Scott Morrison would not comment on the story either, but said he was focused on domestic funding priorities like homelessness.

"That's a priority right here in Australia that I want to see funded and we've been able to achieve that by working through offsets in my own portfolio and it's important that we help those here at home," he said.

Bishop stung by foreshadowed cuts before

It is understood there have been tensions between Ms Bishop and her cabinet colleagues over aid funding for some time.

In October the ABC reported Ms Bishop had made it clear to senior colleagues she would fight any attempt to cut the aid budget.

At the time, a source told the ABC Ms Bishop confronted colleagues about an article in The Australian foreshadowing aid cuts.

The source said Ms Bishop raised the article and asked which Cabinet minister was talking to the media about her portfolio without consulting her.

A colleague suggested that every portfolio would have to look at further budget savings in light of the increased costs of deploying troops in the Middle East.

Despite Ms Bishop's protestations, aid was cut in the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO) by $3.7 billion.

www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-23/julie-bishop-to-question-treasurer-over-aid-cut-r...

teddybear wrote on Mar 23^rd, 2015 at 10:43am:



Uneducated medical diagnosis online. Is this another cost cutting method by the conservatives.

Hockey trying to screw Bishop via cutting foreign aid and then having his office releasing this news before the budget.

Is this how liberals work together?

teddybear wrote on Mar 23^rd, 2015 at 10:43am:


You must stop this misogynistic approach to Ms Bishop. Her STDs are none of your business.

____ wrote on Mar 23^rd, 2015 at 10:52am:


....are you old enough to post this X rated stuff?   

Swagman wrote on Mar 23^rd, 2015 at 11:22am:



screw

informal
cheat or swindle (someone), especially by charging them too much for something.
"the loss of advertising contracts will amount to more than the few quid that they're trying to screw us for"


Sorry swag, I forgot some here have comprehension issues.

Julius Abbott wrote on Mar 23^rd, 2015 at 11:29am:

Roll eyes ... Face palm ...