Geldof blasts Australia's 'pathetic' foreign aid allocation

Bob Geldof has attacked the Australian government for the "embarrassingly pathetic" amount of money the country spends on foreign aid.

The singer was in the country on Monday to take on a new role as honorary ambassador for the city of Brisbane - but he shocked officials Down Under with his outspoken comments.

Geldof - who is a prominent anti-poverty campaigner - criticised the Australian government for spending less than 0.5% of their gross domestic product (GDP) on helping citizens in less economically developed countries, branding the amount "tragic".

He says: "It's embarrassingly pathetic. In fact, it's one of the meanest in the planet. (It is) way behind the rest of the developed world."

"For a country that keeps boasting about its huge growth, which is absolutely correct, you should boast and be proud of it. Is 99.5% not enough for you?"

And the singer urged the wealthy country to allocate more of their GDP to foreign aid than their required 0.7% by 2015, as agreed in the United Nation's Millennium Development Goals.

He adds: "If people think that's a lot of money - what, 99.3% is not enough for you all, does that not do it? It's tragic."