June 30, 2014 — The government is being pressed to alter the charitable status of environmental groups after a Liberal MP successfully argued to his party that the groups are not “real charities” like the Red Cross or the Salvation Army.
A motion introduced by MP Andrew Nikolic to the Liberal federal council called for environmental groups to be stripped of charitable rights, such as the ability to receive tax-deductible donations.
Nikolic, the federal member for the Tasmanian electorate of Bass, said the groups should not be subsidised for political activism, some of it which he claimed was illegal. The conference motion passed the motion unanimously.
“Real charities include the Red Cross and the Salvos,” Nikolic told the conference. “Believe it or not, organisations like the Wilderness Society, Australian Conservation Foundation, Bob Brown Foundation and all the environmental defenders offices around Australia are currently recognised as charities as well; the latter provides free legal advice to greens groups.
“The Bob Brown Foundation currently campaigns against the government and is soliciting tax-deductible donations to fund that campaign, while real charities like St Vinnies and Salvos struggle for donors.”
The conference motion states that “eco charities be treated as corporations under consumer and competition law” and “should not be eligible for deductible gift recipient status when advocating political issues”.
Read the full story at The Guardian