SENATE SEN PAULINE HANSON - QON 2270- Budget Papers Table 1 of Australian Official Development Assistance (ODA) (Question No. 2270) Pauline Hanson : asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs on 30 October 2020 : Senator Pauline Hanson: asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs on 30 October 2020 In the Budget Papers Table 1 of Australian Official Development Assistance (ODA) shows Budget Estimates for 2020-21 to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency at $10 million compared to $20 million for 2019-20. 1. What other ODA aid to the Palestinian Territories is provided in the Budget Estimates for 2020-21 compared to 2019-20. 2. What aid to the Palestinian Territories is provided in Budget Estimates outside the ODA category for 2020-21 and 2019-20. 3. In respect of question 1 above can a breakdown be provided by individual program. 4. In respect of question 2 above can a breakdown be provided by individual program. 5. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) provides schooling for Arab Palestinian refugees. A review of the 2019-20 UNRWA Curriculum textbooks by the Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education reports texts which reject the possibility of peace with Israel, including a fourth grade maths textbook asking children to count Martyrs in Palestinian uprisings based on a photograph of raised coffins at a mass funeral. What steps has the government taken to ensure taxpayer dollars are not spent promoting terrorism. 6. What steps has the government taken to ensure foreign aid to UNRWA is not spent on the 'Pay for Slay' program which rewards the families of terrorists. 7. Given UNRWA's documented activities, including a mid 2019 UN Report which exposed corruption in UNRWA and the employment of terrorists, what is the rationale for funding UNRWA. PQ20-000051 Minister Payne the answer to the honourable member's question is as follows: 1: The Pales tinian Te rritories receives bilateral program funding, in addition to Aust ralia's funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Pales tine Refugees (UNRWA). The bilateral f unding Budget allocations were: - 2020-21: $17.5 million - 2019-20: $20.5 million 2: None 3: As at the end of financial year 2019-2020, estimate d program allocat ions were: Palestinia n Territori es, total $16.158m Pales tinian T e rri tories Sc hola rship sup port $0.1 25111 Aust ralia Middle East NGO Cooperat ion Agreeme nt Phase 3 (AMENCA 3) $7.1 I m Australia Awa rds Scho larship s $0.86 111 Direct Aid Program $0.004111 United Natio ns Office for Project Services (UNOPS) $3.0m Inte rnat io na l Comm ittee of the Red Cross (ICRC) $5.0m Final e xpenditme figmes for the 2019-20 financial year will be published in December 2020, in Australi a' s Official Development Assist ance: Stat is tical Sum mary Funding allocations for the Palestinian Te rritor ies 2020-21 development program are yet to be aru1ounced. 4: Not applicable - see 2. 5: Australian funding to UNRWA is not used to purchase textbooks. All Australian agreements require multilateral partners, including UNRWA, to comply with counter-ter rorism and sanction require ments, as well as fraud control and anti-corruption require ments. Australia reg ularly reinforces to UNRWA the importance of ensuring that UN values, such as neutrality, human rights, tolerance, equality and non-discrimination, are reflected throughout all activities in UNRWA schools. We undertake performance assessments of partners to ensure they are maintaining the required standards and performance. 6: See 5. 7: The United Nations (UN) Secretary General advised donors in November 2019 that the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) investigations into allegations against five senior UNRWA officers concluded that there was no fraud or misappropriation of donor funds. However, there were managerial issues that needed to be addressed. Australia engaged closely with the UN during its investigation to reinforce Australia's expectations of full transparency. UNRWA has assured partners of its commitment to strengthening governance, management and accountability mechanisms. The Australian Government continues to assess that no other organisation has UNRWA's mandate or capacity to provide crucial health and education services amongst Palestinians in the region. UNRWA's frontline staff of doctors, nurses, teachers and sanitation workers have been vital to limiting the spread of the COVID-19 in the Palestinian Territories. .