Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has been criticised in
front of a high-powered crowd in Washington DC for cutting the nation's
foreign aid budget.


Hugh Evans, the Australian founder and chief executive of The
Global Poverty Project (GPP), told an audience at the International
Monetary Fund-World Bank Spring Meetings on Thursday the prime minister
"broke his promise" after his election victory.



"He slashed the foreign aid budget dramatically which will
have far-reaching consequences for the world's poor," Evans, standing
before World Bank President Jim Yong Kim and United Nations Secretary
General Ban Ki-moon, told the audience.


The New York-based Evans was unapologetic about calling out
the Australian prime minister on the international stage and urged world
leaders to end extreme poverty by 2030.


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"In 2007, after more than a million Australians had joined
the movement to end extreme poverty, both major parties promised to
increase Australia's foreign budget to 0.5 per cent of gross national
income (GNI)," Mr Evans told AAP.


"Seven years later, Prime Minister Tony Abbott has abandoned these commitments by drastically cutting the aid budget.


"The treasurer, Joe Hockey, is also at the World Bank today. I
hope he's heard our call loud and clear to chart a course in his first
budget to increase Australia's overseas aid to 0.5 per cent of GNI.


"As an Australian, I'm proud of the reputation Australia has
built for itself on the world stage in recent years through a generous
and effective aid program.


"We don't want this single act of political indecency to undo the great work Australia has done to help end extreme poverty."


The panel was held at the World Bank headquarters in Washington DC and webcast around the globe.