Sharman Stone (Murray, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I certainly understand that, Mr Deputy Speaker. The point I was making was about trying to understand the key reason for this new commission, and the suspicion of the not-for-profit sector is that perhaps this is preparation for a new era of taxation for these not-for-profits. That is a very live and real concern for a number of these agencies.

I have to say too that a lot of these not-for-profits and charities do enjoy the fact that they are their own people. They were established to meet a need in society which was not met by the governments of the day, whether state, local or federal. We should not smother them with more national regulation and legislation. We should be proud of the fact that they are independent, that they have a very high moral code, that the people who are engaged in them are people who Australia has for a very long time looked up to as embodying the great values and spirits of Australia in that they do not constantly look for a handout. They are the sorts of people who put out, who in the case of the Australian Red Cross, for example, man emergency stations in times of flood and fire. They are the people who collect blood. They are the people of the Foodbank Victoria who drive around and deliver food parcels, particularly these days, to the growing numbers of families who cannot make ends meet. The people who established Warramunda Village in my electorate, and the people who established the other not-for-profit aged-care facilities we have in almost every small country town, usually at least 50 or 60 years ago, did so because there was a gap, because no-one else would do it.

We should not strangle them with additional reporting requirements, additional red tape. We should not say to them, 'Look, you really do need this; it's good for you.' They do not see it. They have been complaining to me that they do not think they can employ an additional secretary or someone to do the paperwork they can see coming down the line at them.

I am most concerned about this legislation. Like my fellow members of the coalition, I will be opposing it if it is presented at the end of the day in its current form. I can see that it means more jobs for some senior bureaucrats—the commission no doubt will pay very well. I can see that it will give someone a real sense of more reach into the minds and hearts of the voluntary sector, the not-for-profit sector, the charitable sector. I do not think that is a good thing for Australia.

When we look at such memorable episodes as the Olympic Games that were held in Sydney, the lasting legacy of those games and the memory that lingered longest was the amazing work of the volunteers, many of them stepping forward out of the not-for-profit sector and the charities. Those volunteers stood up straight and proud and said: 'We're here because we want to be. No-one's paying us. We're here because we think it is Australian to welcome others and to do a job that could be done for pay but is done better by a volunteer.' Let's not throw out what is good about Australian society. Let's not make it harder for charities and not-for-profits to exist and survive. Let's not put off those stunning Australians who do put their hands up and volunteer their time because the difficulty of meeting the red tape requirements and the other scrutiny is just too much for them. They will walk away and say, 'Look, we have other things to do with our lives.'

I ask this Labor government to think very hard about the legislation before us. I say comprehensively that we do not need an Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission. I am very concerned that there is an indecent haste in getting this commission up and running. I suggest that those hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars required for setting up this commission be instead put into greater support for the not-for-profit and charitable sector. Let's distribute those moneys across a number of charities in Australia that do such great work. With my coalition colleagues, I condemn the whole notion of this commission, and I say it does nothing for the great Australian not-for-profit and charitable sector. They themselves are in despair about this. I strongly suggest the Labor Party rethinks this.

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