Jill Hall (Shortland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Tonight I would like to draw the House’s attention to the activities of an organisation registered as the New South Wales War Widows Association Inc. and previously going under the name of Newcastle-Hunter War Widows. It is an organisation that has no connection whatsoever with the War Widows Guild of Australia New South Wales Ltd and, to the best of my knowledge, is a privately registered company owned and registered by Trevor Steele, who lives in the Shortland electorate.

I first became aware of this organisation when my office was contacted by various businesses and individuals within the electorate of Shortland and the surrounding area stating that Mr Steele was seeking money from them for charitable activities and saying that I supported him. This was towards the end of last year and earlier this year. I reported the matter to the police and the investigating officer advised me that he had spoken to the person concerned and there would be no more problems.

Unfortunately, the matter did not end there, and Mr Steele is still promoting himself as an organisation known as the New South Wales War Widows Association Inc. In fact, he registered the corporation with the New South Wales Office of Fair Trading on 29 March this year. I seek leave to table that.

Leave granted.

I have made inquiries with the Office of Charities of the New South Wales Department of Racing and Gaming and have been advised that Mr Steele has not been granted approval to raise funds from the public under the Charitable Fundraising Act. Unfortunately, Mr Steele has sought to raise funds from the public and this is of great concern to the New South Wales War Widows Guild, to me and to the department, which has once again referred the matter to the police.

The New South Wales War Widows Guild is an organisation that all members of this House would support. The work it undertakes is valuable to all war widows and to our community as a whole. The charity has been in existence for 60 years, working for and supporting war widows in New South Wales. It has 13,000 members throughout New South Wales and is highly respected. This makes the act of Mr Steele so much more despicable.

I share the concerns that have been raised by the war widows. The caring for and looking after of war widows is not the business activity which Mr Steele is making it. I query whether this business has a genuine connection to war widows, considering that the War Widows Guild itself claims that there is no connection whatsoever. He is duping the public into believing that he is actually working for war widows, but I question where the money he raises goes. I am also concerned that the business is really being used to solicit money from the public and that this is happening without the authority that he should have through the Department of Racing and Gaming. This is very serious. This man is duping the public. This man has used my name, and the names of the Mayor of Newcastle and the Mayor of Lake Macquarie, in order to gain money from the public in our area.

As I have mentioned, he has previously gone under the name of Newcastle-Hunter War Widows and I have here a piece of paper that he put out to people thanking ‘businesses and houses’ for any support they could give during the festive season to war widows and thanking them for ‘caring for the elderly’. My understanding is that the only elderly person he has any connection to is his own mother. The Department of Gaming and Racing has said that he does not have the right to collect money, yet he has advertised for telemarketers in the Star newspaper of 30 November and the Muswellbrook Chronicle of 9 December 2005. I have used this adjournment debate tonight to warn people and let them know that Mr Steele’s New South Wales War Widows Association is not the War Widows Guild of New South Wales. Beware! (Time expired)