Bob Geldof Blasts Australia's 'pathetic' Foreign Aid Allocation.

20-11-2007 12:01

Bob Geldof Blasts Australia's 'pathetic' Foreign Aid Allocation....

Sir Bob Geldof has attacked the Australian government for the "embarrassingly pathetic" amount of money the country spends on foreign aid.The British rocker was in the country on Monday (19Nov07) to take on a new role as honorary ambassador for the city of Brisbane - but he shocked officials Down Under with his outspoken comments.Geldof - who is a prominent anti-poverty campaigner - criticised the Australian government for spending less than 0.5 per cent of their gross domestic product (Gdp) on helping citizens in less economically developed countries, branding the amount "tragic".

He says, "It's embarrassingly pathetic. In fact, it's one of the meanest in the planet. (It is) way behind the rest of the developed world"."For a country that keeps boasting about its huge growth, which is absolutely correct, you should boast and be proud of it. Is 99.5 per cent not enough for you?"And the former Boomtown Rats singer urged the wealthy country to allocate more of their Gdp to foreign aid than their required 0.7 per cent by 2015, as agreed in the United Nation's Millennium Development Goals.He adds, "If people think that's a lot of money - what, 99.3 (per cent) is not enough for you all, does that not do it? It's tragic".