By Michelle Pearse – Australian Christian Lobby CEO
The Albanese Government has moved to [covertly] grant special deductible gift recipient (DGR) status and subsequent tax breaks to Equality Australia, an explicitly anti-Christian lobby group.
It comes after the organisation was rejected four times through bureaucratic processes.
[It is a political advocacy group not entitled to register as a public benevolent institution just like the Australian Christian Lobby which does not have DGR status.]
The Government has legislated to override those rejections, revealing ideological bias towards a group that campaigns against religious freedom.
Equality Australia actively campaigns against religious freedom because they think that a Biblical worldview on human sexuality and gender is discriminatory.
ACL VIEW OF WHAT EQUALITY AUSTRALIA STANDS FOR
They have urged the removal of religious exemptions in anti-discrimination laws, arguing that these exemptions protect the discriminators.
It is their view that the discriminators are Christians who believe in marriage between a male and a female, and Christian schools who teach this Biblical truth.
Equality Australia doesn’t just oppose religion, they also campaign for ‘gender affirmation’; a cult-like ideology that leads to bodily mutilation.
I’ve spoken to young adults who have tried to change their gender and are now living with horrific health complications that will affect them for life.
EQUALITY AUSTRALIA SUPPORTS ‘GENDER AFFIRMATION’ FOR CHILDREN
Thousands of children in Australia are on drugs to ‘block’ puberty because of ‘gender affirmation’.
These numbers are not an exaggeration.
Queensland and the Northern Territory have already withdrawn puberty blockers from the public health system.
Other states must follow suit.
“GOVERNMENT HAS GONE ROGUE IN ITS SUPPORT FOR EQUALITY AUSTRALIA”
Equality Australia supports laws and policies that elevate ‘sexual orientation’ and ‘gender identity’ as pre-eminent protected attributes at the expense of biological sex, the protection of women and children in sport and female-only spaces, as well as freedom of religion and speech.
The Government has gone rogue in its support for Equality Australia.
When its application failed through the normal channels, the Government simply ignored the rules and granted DGR status anyway [and refuses to make any public comment on the decision].
[The Australian reports that for at least three years, Equality Australia has funnelled tax-deductible donations through an HIV/AIDS charity to bypass the court rulings.]
EQUALITY AUSTRALIA’S CAMPAIGN FOR DGR STATUS
Equality Australia applied to the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) to become a Public Benevolent Institution (PBI), a requirement for DGR status.
They were told they did not qualify because they are a political lobby group, not an organisation providing direct charitable relief such as feeding or clothing the homeless.
Equality Australia objected through the ACNC’s internal review process, but the objection was disallowed.
It then applied to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.
Except for one dissenting member, the Tribunal affirmed the ACNC’s original decision.
AFTER MULTIPLE REJECTIONS EQUALITY AUSTRALIA APPEALS TO MINISTER
Equality Australia then appealed to the Full Federal Court.
The Court ruled unanimously that there was no error of law in the Tribunal’s decision.
The next step could have been an appeal to the High Court, but Equality Australia instead chose to appeal to Assistant Charities Minister Andrew Leigh.
PLAN TO LEGISLATE DGR STATUS HIDDEN IN BUDGET PAPER
We were first alerted to the Albanese Government’s consideration of providing DGR status to Equality Australia after another group identified it hidden in a budget paper [on amending superannuation laws] more than a year ago.
It could only be fully granted through legislation.
Last week, a Bill was debated in the Senate to provide final approval for Equality Australia.
Thankfully, the Coalition raised concerns, and Senator Claire Chandler exposed the lack of fairness and the cost to taxpayers:
WHAT SENATOR CLAIRE CHANDLER SAID IN PARLIAMENT
There is no doubt, Mr Acting Deputy President, that Equality Australia engages in political advocacy.
The organisation is heavily involved in campaigning against the sex-based rights of women and in favour of sex ID laws which have further eroded those rights.
Let’s be very clear. The debate around these issues is not one where government should be picking a winner by selectively applying a tax advantage to one side and not the other.
That is exactly why Australia has a set of principled, well-established DGR categories, so the eligibility for taxpayer support is based on neutral, purpose-driven criteria not political preference or alignment with the government’s ideological agenda.
“GOVERNMENT IS SEEKING TO REWARD FAVOURED ADVOCACY GROUPS WHILE EXCLUDING OTHERS”
The Government’s proposal in this schedule departs from that very principle.
It is asking the Parliament to elevate a specific advocacy organisation above others despite the fact that the regulator and the courts have determined that it does not meet the relevant high standard.
It is utterly inappropriate for our DGR framework to reward favoured advocacy groups while excluding others.
“AUSTRALIANS EXPECT DGR STATUS TO BE APPLIED FAIRLY, WITHOUT POLITICAL FAVOUR”
For all of these reasons, Mr Acting Deputy President, the Coalition will be moving an amendment in the committee stage to remove Equality Australia from the list of organisations receiving DGR status.
Australians expect DGR status to be reserved for organisations that meet the high standards of scrutiny.
They expect it to be applied consistently, fairly, and without political favour.
And they expect Parliament to protect the integrity of that system, not undermine it by carving out special treatment for an advocacy organisation simply because the Government happens to agree with its platform.”
“WHAT IF THE ACL APPEALED TO THE MINISTER FOR DGR STATUS?”
I’m glad this is gaining at least a little media attention.
I was quoted in The Australian this week, reiterating the points made above.
I said this action was evidence of the Government’s ideological bias.
According to the rules, the ACL does not fit the criteria for DGR status.
Maybe we should make a special appeal to the minister and see what happens.
“LABOR’S IDEOLOGICAL ALIGNMENT NEEDS TO BE TESTED AT THE BALLOT BOX”
The Government has the numbers to pass the Bill [which backdates EA’s tax-deductible status to June last year], but its ideological alignment needs to be tested at the ballot box.
These issues must become vote changers.
We need to educate the public about the misuse of government power, and that is what we at ACL are committed to doing.
This is a slightly amended version of a commentary sent to Australian Christian Lobby supporters.
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