Treasurer Joe Hockey acknowledged aid was the hardest hit in the mid-year fiscal budget, which was being used to "offset" defence and national security commitments of $1.3 billion. "The cut in foreign aid is by far the largest reduction," Mr Hockey said. The total cuts this year to aid is almost $11 billion. World Vision chief executive Tim Costello said it was the worst cut he had seen. "I'm devastated," he said. "Aid spending is the most moral spending that the government can do, so to cut this is morally wrong." "This is just cruel and harsh."

Mr Costello said a raft of lifesaving programs, including efforts to combat human trafficking, will probably be affected by the budget cuts. A report released by World Vision today draws attention to how vulnerable some communities in south-east Asia are to trafficking and exploitation. The study found many children and young people are not being deterred from migrating across borders despite the risk of dangerous and exploitative working conditions. Aid agencies said the budget cuts had made Australia one of the world's stingiest aid donors. Unicef said the latest reductions meant Australia had become "among the world's most tight-fisted donors" despite being the fourth-wealthiest member of the OECD with the sixth-lowest debt. Save the Children chief executive Paul Ronalds said children in poor communities were the innocent victims of Mr Hockey's inability to get his budget savings measures through the Senate.

"Joe Hockey is effectively Robin Hood in reverse, robbing aid that has been committed to the poorest people in the world and using it to try and get his budget balanced," Mr Ronalds said. "Together with the aid slashed from the May budget, this brings Australian aid down to the lowest it's ever been comparatively. It's simply un-Australian." Other aid advocates accused Mr Hockey of "raiding the piggy bank", advocating for legislation that can protect the aid budget, as modelled on the United Kingdom. "There is a limit to how much you can raid the piggy bank, incompetence that we haven't seen for 40 years," Action Aid chief executive Archie Law said. "This government is totally out of sync with what the Australians want, whether it comes from asylum seekers and what that does to Australia's international relationships."

Mr Law said the cuts will dramatically affect Australia's relationship with partner governments. "It decimates relationships that have been built over time," he said. It will also affect aid given to womens' development, education and humanitarian assistance. Australian Council for International Development executive director Mark Purcell said the cuts will hurt "millions" of vulnerable people throughout the world. "We see it as wrecking ball by the government," Mr Purcell said. Under the cuts, for every $100 Australia will give 21¢ to aid projects by 2017-18. It is currently 32¢ in every $100.