Australia holds firm as foreign aid cuts hit Pacific

Australia remains the largest foreign aid donor in the Pacific as other Western partners including the US, the UK and New Zealand cut funding.

The forecast of aid plateaus through to 2028 with Australia's increasing infrastructure lending largely offsetting cuts by other donors, the Lowy Institute's Pacific aid map reveals.

"Australia's steady aid spending and rapid expansion in infrastructure lending looks set to cushion the Pacific from the impact of major donor cuts," lead author Riley Duke said.

"Australia's dominant role in Pacific development is expanding.

"By 2028, it will likely deliver more than double the combined support of Japan, New Zealand, the United States, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom."

The map tracked official development finance between 2008 and 2023, whi