First and foremost, Australia is popularly known to be ‘champions of the underdog’ who believe in the ‘fair go’ principle. To not have an overseas aid program is thought to be inhumane and even unpatriotic. The Australian Overseas Aid Program argues that most Australians support Indonesian aid simply because they sincerely care about those who are less well off. Aid to Indonesia may then encourage a friendly relationship between them and Australia and the future of positive exchanges of cultural values.
Secondly, by providing aid for countries such as Indonesia, it provides employment and training opportunities for Australians. Thousands of full and part-time jobs have been created in government and non-government aid agencies as well as in private firms. Voluntary aid has been said to benefit young people seeking work experience and retirees and unemployed people seeking worthwhile work. The theory is that voluntary work gives them valuable knowledge and work skills and improves cultural links between the two countries.
However, when there are positives, there are always negatives. The disadvantage for Australia giving aid is that the receiving country of the aid can become too dependent on receiving that money. Instead of the country using the aid and becoming more independent by implementing programs and policies in their country, they remain dependent on the aid. For example, Australia gives Indonesia approximately 2 billion dollars a year. This is a concern because without Australian aid the people of Indonesia would be very poor.