This article is more than 6 years old

This article is more than 6 years old

Foreign minister Julie Bishop has accused the deputy opposition leader, Tanya Plibersek, of turning the government’s pledge to an international fund to combat diseases into “a political point scoring exercise” after Plibersek criticised the $200m promise for not meeting global expectations.

On Tuesday, Plibersek said the government was “falling short” on commitments to fight Aids, tuberculosis and malaria, after the government committed $10m less than the previous pledge made under Labor to the Global Fund, despite repeated calls for an increase.

The Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria operates on international contributions to battle communicable diseases around the world. More than $22.4bn in programs have been approved since 2002. Around 95% of its operating budget comes from donor governments.

On Tuesday, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Dfat) announced Australia’s contribution plan of $200m over three years.

Plibersek told ABC’s AM program on Wednesday morning that there was “an expectation that the amount would grow” towards the $375m being called for by aid agencies.

“Over the four years from 2013 to 2016, the Global Fund aims to save a further 10 million lives and prevent up to 180 million new infections from the three diseases. This is work that Australia must make a contribution to,” said Plibersek in parliament on Tuesday.

“[Dfat’s] announcement cuts Australia’s contribution to $200m over three years – an average of around $67m per year,” she later added in a statement.

“Tony Abbott has failed to deliver the $375m contribution expected of Australia to replenish the Global Fund – an international financing institution established to dramatically increase resources for the fight against the three pandemics.”

However in question time on Wednesday, Bishop said the pledge of $200m is “precisely the same amount which the Labor government delivered in the last three years.”

“One would have thought given the deterioration in the budget … and the fact that the debt is now skyrocketing past $400bn, we would have heard bipartisan support from the Labor party for this significant pledge,” she said.

Bishop also accused Labor of breaking their 2010 donation pledge, saying that “a couple of years later when they thought Global Fund wasn’t watching, they ripped $10m out of the Global Fund commitment.”

Global Fund documents showing government pledges and contributions (shown in $US) do not show any outstanding payments from Australia.

A few minutes after Bishop’s accusation, Plibersek tweeted: “Julie Bishop should explain why she has cut funding to Global Fund from $ 100 million last year to $67 mil next year. And for good measure Julie Bishop should explain the $4.5 Billion of aid cuts and where they will fall.”

https://twitter.com/tanya_plibersek/status/408083364353015808

https://twitter.com/tanya_plibersek/status/408083800082481154

Plibersek told Guardian Australia “It’s no surprise Julie Bishop and the Abbott Government are sensitive about international aid given they are cutting it by $4.5bn, including around $600m this financial year.”

Australia’s contributions to Global Fund have fluctuated since 2004, before increasing to a record contribution of $100m in 2013 – the bulk of the $210m donation for 2011-2013 made in the 2010 round of global government commitments.

The latest round of donations secured by the Global Fund saw a 30% increase on those secured in 2010 for 2011 to 2013, the organisation revealed on Tuesday.

The US – the Global Fund’s biggest contributor – pledged US$4bn although that could rise to a maximum of $5bn as the country also renewed its promise to contribute $1 for every $2 contributed by others through September 2014. The UK promise £1bn, Japan pledged US$800m and Canada $612m.

Shortly before the 2010 election, aid groups called for both major Australian political parties to promise a minimum $500m contribution should they take office.

Both the offices of Plibersek and Bishop were contacted again to clarify the accusation that Australia fell short of its 2010 pledge.