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A lone senator from Tasmania has been accused of blocking part of Australia’s
contribution to international family planning programmes. The federal government
announced this week that it would review the ‘basic intellectual foundations’
of its population policy before it decides how to spend the A $3.25 million
( £1.45 million) of next year’s aid budget which remains uncommitted.
The remainder of the $30 million earmarked for family planning is already
committed.

Critics such as Family Planning Australia and the Australian Council
for Overseas Aid claim the block is the result of a deal between the Labor
government and Independent Senator Brian Harradine. The government needs
Harradine’s support to push its unpopular budget through the upper house
of Parliament. And Harradine, a Catholic and father of six children and
stepfather to seven more, has long opposed spending aid on family planning.

Harradine denies the charges but says he welcomes the review, arguing
that population growth is not the driving force behind poverty and environmental
degradation. ‘Clearly, in certain cities there are problems, but these are
very often the fault of dictators and urban elites who are in receipt of
foreign aid monies,’ he said.

Harradine argues that Australia should not fund ‘coercive’ population
control projects. He is also critical of ‘international population control
bureaucracies’ such as the UN Population Fund and the International Planned
Parenthood Federation. According to Harradine, they support abortion clinics
in developing countries, artificial contraception, and an ‘alarmist Malthusian
view that the world is overpopulated’.

Gareth Evans, Senate leader and Minister for Foreign Affairs, says the
government did propose a review of its policy in response to Harradine’s
concerns. Colin Hollis, a Labor MP, goes further. He calls the decision
a ‘cynical back-room deal’ which should be reversed. ‘It sends a negative
message to the world,’ he said.

Å®ÉúСÊÓƵs attending the population summit of the world’s scientific
academies in Delhi last week sent a message to the Australian prime minister
condemning the block in funding.