The Honourable Alex Hawke - Minister for International Development and the Pacific

Welcome to Episode 53 of Good Will Hunters, with the Right Honourable Alex Hawke, Minister for International Development and the Pacific and Assistant Minister for Defence. The Minister was sworn into office on May 28, 2019. He has spent much of the last 6 months travelling throughout the Pacific Islands and PNG, understanding the concerns of our nearest neighbours. In this episode, we cover a whole range of topics relating to the aid and development agenda in Australia, including the nexus of defence and development, climate change support to the Pacific, debt sustainability, funding for infrastructure versus funding for health and education, the role of China, our agenda in PNG, the future of our aid program, the role of NGOs, and also the advice the Minister would have liked to give himself ten years ago. This interview was a fantastic opportunity to ask the Minister many of the questions that I, and others in the sector, have been wanting to know. As always, we welcome your feedback. You can get in touch via our website www.goodwillhunterspodcast.com.au and if you love the show, we'd love you to leave a review on iTunes! Enjoy, Rachel and the GWH Team