When I'm speaking to donors I'm often asked how much Oxfam Australia coordinates its work with other agencies.

Executive Director Andrew Hewett

Everyday we work with other groups — in the first instance, with our fellow members of Oxfam International, our primary alliance. Together we seek to improve our effectiveness by collaborating in our responses to major humanitarian emergencies, in pursuing our advocacy goals and in our development programs.

And then there's the reality that most of our development program is implemented through local partner organisations. In some instances our partners will be local or district councils.

In Australia we're an active member of the Australian Council for International Development, the peak council of non-government aid and development organisations. We've also got a range of alliances bringing together diverse groups. Currently we are part of the Make Poverty History campaign which involves a range of aid and development agencies and church groups.

This coalition has demonstrated its effectiveness in mobilising hundreds of thousands of Australians and in making sure our voices are heard in Canberra. The announced increases in the aid budget and the improvements in the direction of the aid program outlined in the government's White Paper are testament to its impact.

In working with others we try to ensure that we're clear about our values and proposed contribution and that we're open about our objectives. There will be times when it's more effective to pursue our own approach. But wherever possible we'll join with others to collectively work to advance the cause of a more just society.

Andrew Hewett
Executive Director