COALITION FAILS CHARITIES. AGAIN.
Zed Seselja has failed his first test as charities minister.
As state and territory consumer affairs ministers met yesterday, they reportedly found a gaping hole in the Minster’s agenda – outdated fundraising laws, which saddle charities with a paperwork burden of around $15 million every year.
This mishmash of laws designed for a pre-internet age cost charities more than $1 million a month, yet Senator Seselja can’t even be bothered to list it for discussion.
Senator Seselja knows there is a problem. The Coalition knows there is a problem. They’ve been told by charities, by Labor - even by their own Senators more than six months ago.
But once again, this is a government that shows by its actions – or lack of them - how little it cares for our charitable sector.
The past six years have seen the Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison Government churn through six ministers responsible for the charities commission. They appointed an anti-charities commissioner to white-ant the sector, and mounted a series of attacks on the rights of charities to speak for the community in public policy debates.
Now it looks as though the sector will have to wait another year to even talk about tackling this red tape burden.
If charities were looking to the Morrison Government for a miracle on fixing fundraising, they’re about to be disappointed.
Authorised by Paul Erickson, ALP, Canberra.
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