So, is it a good time to start a “charity”?

“The organisations say the cuts clearly break a Coalition promise not to cut their funding when it announced a $4.5bn cut to the aid budget over the next four years two days before the federal election.

At the time of that cut, the then shadow treasurer, Joe Hockey, and shadow finance spokesman, Andrew Robb, said “the Coalition will reprioritise foreign aid allocations towards non-government organisations that deliver on-the-ground support for those most in need”.

“That will also mean putting more money into NGOs who are on the ground and who can deliver aid more efficiently than through AusAID or indeed through some of the multilaterals that we’ve been putting money into in increasing numbers because AusAID cannot handle the increases in the budget,” then foreign affairs spokeswoman Julie Bishop said.

The government said it needed to redirect the $4.5bn towards domestic infrastructure. The cut was from projected expenditure – with the aid budget continuing to grow in line with inflation.”

The Guardian, Jan 18, 2014

And then there’s this:

“Victoria’s most powerful business lobby group wants to be declared a charity in a bid to recoup millions of dollars it has paid in state taxes.

The move would see the ”promotion of commerce” defined as a charitable endeavour, with the group saying charities do not only run soup kitchens.

The Victorian Employers’ Chamber of Commerce and Industry last week petitioned the Supreme Court of Victoria to declare it a charitable and not-for-profit institution for taxation purposes, which would make the group exempt from paying state taxes.”

The Age, Jan 12, 2014

Not to mention this:

“If Tony Abbott is elected prime minister on Saturday he will abolish the watchdog established by Labor to keep an eye on the billions of dollars received and spent by Australian charities each year. Why?

The answer, in part at least, may be the lobbying power of church conservatives, the Catholic Church in particular, and the office of Sydney Cardinal George Pell, more particularly still.

And their focus has not been the Coalition alone. Labor insiders acknowledge the impact of Cardinal Pell’s office as it reduced the scope of its new national regulator, the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission.

Charity leaders, church heads and political insiders have told The Sunday Age about the lobbying campaign over charities regulation by the Sydney archdiocese, notably Cardinal Pell’s business manager and chief political envoy, Danny Casey.”

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/federal-election-2013/church-lobby-in-win-over-charities-watchdog-20130831-2sxqs.html#ixzz2qipSg2B1

Sydney Morning Herald, September 1, 2013

Ok, I just hope that the Abbott Government doesn’t consider the Victorian Employers’ Chamber of Commerce and Industry one of those most in need!

Maybe it’s time we just stating asking questions about more than just the obvious.

Still, I seem to remember that the Howard Government had problems with charities “getting involved in politics” and the suggestion being that they should just shut up and help the people that they were meant to help. Can’t help wondering if the Liberals will apply this concept to the Victorian Employers’ Chamber of Commerce and Industry, if it were to gain charity status.

By the way, I hope you’ll all join with me in celebrating the anniversary of that great day in Australia’s history, 26th of January. It’s the sort of thing that we need to remember in these current dark times.

The 26th January is, of course, the anniversary of the Rum Rebellion.