<br><div class="gmail_quote"><br><img src="http://www.aidwatch.org.au/sites/aidwatch.org.au/files/aidwatch_logo.gif" height="42" width="167"><br><br>
<p class="MsoNormal">Dear supporters</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Last month saw the world’s leaders, development agencies and
civil society organisations gather in RIO for the <a href="http://www.uncsd2012.org/index.html" target="_blank">UN conference on sustainable development</a>.
The aim of the conference was to find development paths to reduce
poverty, advance social equity and ensure environmental protection on an ever
more crowded planet in order to “get the future we want”.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.uncsd2012.org/index.php?page=view&type=510&nr=692&menu=20" target="_blank">Australia’s
contribution</a> to the conference was to push mining as a means of sustainable
development and advocate for aid to be used to promote private financing. With
other countries also promoting sustainable initiatives that had little to do
with sustainability and much to do with profit, it is little surprise that the
conference outcome document was <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/jun/23/rio-20-earth-summit-document" target="_blank">routinely
criticised by civil society</a> as lacking actions and commitments necessary to
produce a truly sustainable future. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<div style="border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border:none;padding:0cm">In this edition of the AID/WATCH
e-bulletin we’ll give you the run down on AID/WATCH’s response to the RIO+20
summit and the increasing use of the aid program to promote mining. We also
have updates of our other activities over the past month and some upcoming
events for your diaries. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border:none;padding:0cm"> </p>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>This issue:</u></b></p>
<p style="margin-left:18.0pt"><span style="font-family:Symbol"><span>·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span><b><a href="#1387a38deb1daffa_RIO20">Rio+ 20 and “sustainable mining”</a></b></p>
<p style="margin-left:18.0pt"><span style="font-family:Symbol"><span>·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span><b><a href="#1387a38deb1daffa_aidwatchevent">AID/WATCH event: after RIO+20</a></b></p>
<p style="margin-left:18.0pt"><span style="font-family:Symbol"><span>·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span><b><a href="#1387a38deb1daffa_PromotingAidEffectiveness">Promoting the aid effectiveness debate</a></b></p>
<p style="margin-left:18.0pt"><span style="font-family:Symbol"><span>·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span><b><a href="#1387a38deb1daffa_AidwatchTurns20">AID/WATCH turns 20!!!</a></b></p>
<p style="margin-left:18.0pt"><span style="font-family:Symbol"><span>·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span><b><a href="#1387a38deb1daffa_AidwatchTwitter">AID/WATCH on Twitter</a></b></p>
<div style="border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm">
<p style="margin-left:18.0pt;border:none;padding:0cm"><span style="font-family:Symbol"><span>·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span><b><a href="#1387a38deb1daffa_AndFinally">And finally...</a></b></p>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a name="1387a38deb1daffa_RIO20"><b>RIO +
20 and “sustainable mining”</b></a></p>
<span></span>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In conjunction with Friends of the Earth Sydney and Quit
Coal, AID/WATCH <a href="http://www.aidwatch.org.au/news/aidwatch-open-letter-to-bob-carr" target="_blank">wrote a
letter to new Foreign Minister Bob Carr</a> outlining the position that we
thought Australia should take at the UN RIO+20 forum on sustainability to
ensure a truly sustainable future, and also raised some concerns over the
pro-mining and pro-market position that <a href="http://www.uncsd2012.org/rio20/index.php?page=view&nr=692&type=510&menu=20&template=529&str=Biodiversity" target="_blank">Australia
had taken in its submission</a> to the forum. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p>AID/WATCH particularly took issue with three aspects of the
Australian submission:</p><p><span><span>1)<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span>Why Australia was advocating aid to promote
private financing against UN efforts to protect sustainability</p><p><span><span>2)<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span>Why Australia was promoting market mechanisms
against UN efforts to secure government action</p><p><span><span>3)<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span>Why Australia was promoting “sustainable mining”
but not action on climate change</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> (Read our full letter to Bob Carr here: <a href="http://www.aidwatch.org.au/news/aidwatch-open-letter-to-bob-carr" target="_blank">http://www.aidwatch.org.au/news/aidwatch-open-letter-to-bob-carr</a>)</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As <a href="http://newmatilda.com/2012/07/02/sustainable-mining-pull-other-one" target="_blank">our recent
article on mining and aid in New Matilda</a> highlighted, mining as a means of
development is becoming an increasingly important part of the Australian aid
budget. Since the Review of Aid Effectiveness in 2010, multiple AusAID documents
have outlined the agency’s emphasis on economic development as a means to
poverty reduction, and promotion of mining industries as a key part of that
development. In October 2011 the government committed $127 million to the <a href="http://www.ausaid.gov.au/aidissues/mining/Pages/home.aspx" target="_blank">Mining for
Development Initiative</a> that is extra to aid money already being spent on
mining-related initiatives. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Whilst there can be a relationship between economic growth
and poverty reduction it is by no means naturally causal, and as our article
points out mining is renowned for driving greater disparities between rich and
poor, destabilising economies, human rights abuses and environmental
destruction.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">AID/WATCH thought that the idea of “sustainable mining” (and
let’s not forget that this is an industry that is centred around the
destruction of the environment to extricate finite resources) was such a joke
that we decided to hand deliver our letter on RIO+20 to Bob Carr’s office in
suitable clown-like attire. (See news coverage of our ‘sustainable mining what a joke!’
action <a href="http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/8487382/clowns-in-sydney-anti-mining-protest" target="_blank">here</a>).</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">To carry on the discussion of how environmental justice and
sustainability can be advanced through the aid program post-RIO+20, AID/WATCH
and Friends of the Earth are hosting a forum next week in Sydney and encourage
all of our supporters to come along and get involved in the debate.</p>
<div style="border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border:none;padding:0cm"> </p>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a name="1387a38deb1daffa_aidwatchevent"><b>AID/WATCH
Event: After Rio+20 and Copenhagen: advancing environmental justice</b></a></p>
<span></span>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">T<span>he recent failure of the Rio+20
conference to agree on a real and just framework to reverse the environmental
crises we face was the latest in a series of unsuccessful UN conferences,
including the yearly international climate talks.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span>Join Friends of the Earth Sydney
and AID/WATCH to hear speakers that attended the official Rio+20 conference and
the People’s Summit reflect on what went wrong at the conference and a
discussion on how we should engage with UN conferences on climate and environment
in the future.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span>Can we, as FoE International
suggests, reclaim the UN from corporate capture with democratic participation?
What should we demand of the Australian Government? Or do we need alternatives
to international negotiations to achieve global environmental justice?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Speakers: </b>Lee
Rhiannon (Greens Senator for NSW), Mehreen Faruqi (Associate Professor of
Sustainability, UNSW), Kylie Benton-Connell (FoE Sydney)</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>When: <span> </span></b>Wednesday 18<sup>th</sup> July 2012</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Time:<span> </span></b>6.30pm – 8pm</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Where: </b>Newtown
Neighbourhood Centre</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Cost: </b><span> </span>Free</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/491932797488486/" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/events/491932797488486/</a></p>
<div style="border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border:none;padding:0cm"> </p>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a name="1387a38deb1daffa_PromotingAidEffectiveness"><b>Promoting the aid effectiveness debate</b></a></p>
<span></span>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b> </b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">AID/WATCH recently presented at two events to promote a vision
of development effectiveness based on human rights and social and environmental
justice.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The first of these was at the <a href="http://www.onejustworld.com.au/" target="_blank">One Just World forum</a> in Albury where
AID/WATCH was part of a panel discussing how issues associated with poverty and
marginalisation can be addressed through the aid program. <b>See the video here</b>: <a href="http://www.onejustworld.com.au/forums/are-we-making-a-difference" target="_blank">http://www.onejustworld.com.au/forums/are-we-making-a-difference</a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Chairman James Goodman was on hand at the <a href="http://www.iq2oz.com/events/event-details/2012-series-melbourne/july.php" target="_blank">IQ2
debate in Melbourne</a> to highlight that the amount of money the Global South spends
on debt repayments far outweighs that of aid dollars, to advocate for a ban on
food speculation and promote policies to tackle climate change. Read James’
piece that appeared in <i>The Age</i>
outlining AID/WATCH’s position here: <i><a href="http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/as-long-as-the-rich-can-speculate-on-food-the-worlds-poor-go-hungry-20120630-219ja.html" target="_blank">As
Long as the Rich can Speculate on Food, the World’s Poor go Hungry</a>.</i></p>
<div style="border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border:none;padding:0cm"><i> </i></p>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a name="1387a38deb1daffa_AidwatchTurns20"><b>AID/WATCH
turns 20!!!</b></a></p>
<span></span>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In 1992 AID/WATCH was started in a living room with a small
group of dedicated activists who decided to investigate and challenge how and
where Australian aid dollars were being spent. Since then AID/WATCH has tackled
a number of major issues, lobbied relentlessly and instigated some major policy
reforms.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">To celebrate some of our past achievements and welcome the
next 20 years for AID/WATCH we are holding a birthday celebration at the <a href="http://redrattler.org/" target="_blank">Red Rattler</a> in Marrickville, NSW, on
Thursday, 6 September 2012.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We’ll be back in touch with invites and details soon, but
you can invite yourself to the event and keep up to date by going to our
Facebook event page: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/376377932429912/" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/events/376377932429912/</a></p>
<div style="border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border:none;padding:0cm"> </p>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a name="1387a38deb1daffa_AidwatchTwitter"><b>AID/WATCH
on Twitter</b></a></p>
<span></span>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Perhaps it is just the impending birthday that is making us
feel old, but AID/WATCH have decided to embrace the GenY zeitgeist and
has joined the Twittersphere. Add us on Twitter to keep up to date with all the
latest news on aid and development: <a href="http://twitter.com/AID_WATCH" target="_blank">http://twitter.com/AID_WATCH</a></p>
<div style="border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border:none;padding:0cm"> </p>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a name="1387a38deb1daffa_AndFinally"><b>And
Finally...</b></a></p>
<span></span>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b> </b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Many thanks to all of you who contributed to the end of
financial year appeal. As the only independent monitor of Australian aid, we do
not take government funding and rely solely on contributions from people like
yourself to continue to do the work that we do. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If you missed out on the appeal, don’t feel bad, you can
become a regular AID/WATCH donor from as little as $5 dollars a month: <a href="https://www.egive.org.au/website/index.php" target="_blank">https://www.egive.org.au/website/index.php</a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">AID/WATCH</p>
<br>
</div><br>