Andrew Leigh (Fenner, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

On Monday, Senator Louise Pratt, Labor colleagues and I met with dozens of charities concerned about the latest salvo in the Liberals' war on charities. They included the Australian Council for International Development, CHOICE, Red Cross, Oxfam, CARE Australia, the Consumer Action Law Centre, Financial Counselling Australia, ACOSS, World Vision, RESULTS Australia and Pew Charitable Trusts. There is bipartisan support for banning foreign political donations. Indeed, it's been a year since the Leader of the Opposition introduced a private member's bill that would do just that. But banning donations to political parties should not entail cutting down free speech.

We have had an extraordinary array of opponents to the government's attempt to include charities in the scope of its draft laws. These laws have been opposed by GetUp! and the Institute of Public Affairs—probably the only time in Australia's history when GetUp! and the IPA have agreed on the same thing. Credit where it's due—they have achieved the impossible. But it's not the first time they have brought together a range of people across the political spectrum. There have been two open letters to the Prime Minister complaining about attacks on charities. The most recent was signed by Volunteering Australia, Carers Australia, the Australian Conservation Foundation, the Community Council of Australia, Justice Connect, Philanthropy Australia and the Starlight Children's Foundation. Again, the Liberals are bringing charities together—against them.

The fact is the latest bill conflates political campaigning and issue advocacy. Charities have told us about many concerns they have about how this might affect their operations. One charity told us about a program where they bring Indigenous leaders to Canberra, which might have to cease. Another talked about their anti-tuberculosis work, important not only in the Pacific but also in the Torres Strait, which may have to stop. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation currently funds parliamentarians on both sides to visit aid projects in developing countries. That might have to cease. Take the example of a New Zealand family whose child was helped by a local state based charity. They might be unable to give to that charity. Religious charities have said that the new laws might mean that, before passing around the collection plate on Sundays, they might have to a say, 'If you're a foreigner, don't put money in the plate.' That's Malcolm Turnbull's new Australia—

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