That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) the Australian Council for Overseas Aid (ACFOA) was formed in 1965 and continues to play a significant role as a representative and regulatory body for non-government organisations in Australia,

(ii) ACFOA provides representation, advocacy and a forum for cooperation for some 80 member agencies, and

(iii) on 10 March 2004, ACFOA will change its name to the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID);

(b) further notes that:

(i) the United Nations (UN) has warned that the international community is falling short of achieving the goals set by world leaders at the Millennium Development Summit in 2000 (the Millennium Development Goals),

(ii) Australia's aid budget currently remains at 0.25 per cent of gross national income, which is less than half the level of contribution advocated by the UN,

(iii) ACFID's submission to the 2004-05 Budget calls on the Government to explicitly adopt the Millennium Development Goals as benchmarks for ensuring the aid program is directly focused on the sustainable reduction of poverty, and in that context to provide for new initiatives focused on basic social services for poverty reduction, and

(iv) ACFID also calls on the Government to implement fair trade, debt relief and good governance policies, which underpin the poverty reduction objective of Australia's aid program; and

(c) calls on the Government to explicitly adopt the Millennium Development Goals as the benchmark for ensuring that Australia's aid program is focused on effective aid delivery.