In Reply to: take the idea one step further posted by cliff on Thursday, 6. January 2005 at 21:00 Bali Time:
How about giving some credit to the ONLY people in the world who have so far given $1bn? Yes, PEOPLE ... who the heck do you think is funding our donation? Governments don't have any money! It's the Australian people who are funding this! And how about levelling some of you criticism at some of the far richer countries which have given a pittance or nothing at all! Then ask the the Suharto family how much they've given while you're on about people "sucking the wealth out of Indonesia for decades".
Of course the Australian government wants to have some say in the management of the donation. As my Achinese friend said yesterday, and other posters have observed, one of the biggest challenges is bypassing the corrupt syphoning at so many points along the pipeline between donors and recipients.
And have you thought that perhaps, just perhaps, the Indo government may have offered some of the concessions as a gesture of gratitude? I am certainly naive - and I'm also incensed that you seem totally incapable of anything but continuous criticism of the Australians' government. Seems to me if they all walked across the ocean, you'd be out there with your billboard, "Australian Government Can't Swim" !