Australia pivots foreign aid to Pacific to cover US cut

Australia is trying to plug gaps in aid funding in the Pacific and Southeast Asia left by the US. (Caroline Berdon/AAP PHOTOS)

Pacific island nations will get a larger chunk of Australia's foreign aid as spending is refocused after the United States slashed its aid agency.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong asked her department to compile a list of aid programs across the Pacific and Southeast Asia that would be impacted by the Trump administration's gutting of foreign aid.