Australia's monetary assistance offered to Indonesia in the wake of the Tsunamis certainly sounds genuine:
...Australia's generosity towards the victims themselves has been made clear as the country is the single-biggest bilateral donor to the tsunami-stricken nations by pledging $810 million. Germany stands in second with $660 million while Japan ranks in third with $500 million in amounts committed to the relief effort.
But when you have a look at the details of what is actually being given, it doesn't sound so good:
The Australian Government will contribute $1 billion over five years to this new partnership. The package will consist of $500 million in grants and $500 million in concessional loans over 40 years with no interest and no repayments of principal over the first 10 years.
So while some countries were talking about freezing, or even cancelling some of Indonesia's foreign debt, Australia will actually be increasing it by half a billion dollars. Maybe they should use the $500 million grant to pay off the $500 million loan.
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