Ben Morton (Tangney, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

350.org Australia claims to be an advocacy organisation. Its website says 350.org Australia is an independent not-for-profit climate change advocacy organisation. Yet it has now declined three invitations to appear before the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters, having made a written submission to this committee on political donations. 350.org's submission calls for a $1,000 cap on corporate donations and real-time mandatory disclosure of all donations over $500. However, last year 350.org received over $1 million in contributions and donations, including $116,470 in foreign donations, the source of which it does not voluntarily disclose. This foreign money is used, in my view, to campaign against Australia's national interest, and we have no idea who it comes from.

During the election campaign, 350.org Australia, together with GetUp!, bought up web addresses based on the names of five coalition MPs and created websites which criticised their records and views. A 350.org Facebook post boasted:

GetUp and 350.org have taught the climate action blockers a lesson in how to use the internet, buying up web addresses linked to their names and using them to inform the public of their horrible records.

None of these bogus web pages identified that 350.org.au or GetUp! was behind them. It was deceptive. Instead they were promoted under the banner of Vote Smart. They were authorised by Christina McPhail, who, I have ascertained, in 2015 started work at 350.org as a 'planetary protection officer'. These websites gave Ms McPhail's address as 48 Easey Street Collingwood, which, upon checking, appeared to be a campaign office occupied by GetUp! Ms McPhail markets herself as 'driving disruptive change for the greater social and environmental good'. Around the same time as she was authorising the bogus Vote Smart web pages, she appeared to have been volunteering for the ACT Greens.

What does 350.org say about these Vote Smart web pages being authorised by someone who was apparently simultaneously working for the Greens? The critiques of the five coalition MPs on Vote Smart go much further than concerns about climate change. They criticise these MPs for their supposed record on health, tax, education, communications, human rights and personal expenditures and their characters. These websites are clearly and explicitly anti-coalition, one referring to a 'scorched earth alternative' championed by the coalition. Meanwhile, Christina McPhail was prominently advocating a vote for the Greens on her Facebook page.

I note that, despite 350.org's extensive activity during the 2016 election campaign, it did not submit a third-party return to the Australian Electoral Commission. While not pre-empting the JSCEM conclusions on this matter and not speaking on behalf of JSCEM, I suggest that the lack of disclosure not only of funding sources but also of the activities of such organisations, which are basically involved in continuous campaigning against government policies and priorities, represents a loophole in accountability. I also believe that 350.org's involvement in Vote Smart could contravene the exclusion on partisan political purpose contained in the Charities Act 2013 and consequently jeopardise 350.org's charity status. Notably, all of the five MPs, but four in particular, were also targeted by GetUp!, which is overtly political and, unlike 350.org, is not a registered charity.

Another area in which 350.org appears to fall foul of the provisions of division 3 of the Charities Act is its promotion of law-breaking. 350.org Australia was involved with the Break Free blockade of the Newcastle coal port on 8 May last year, at which, coincidentally, the Australian Greens co-launched their campaign for the federal election. As a result of this blockade, 66 protesters, dubbed 'the Newie 66' by 350.org, were arrested. This was what 350.org's ACT branch said:

The #Newie66 will face court over the coming months and the possibility of fines for their brave action. We've initiated this campaign to help raise funds to cover their legal costs and any fines.

This is the perfect time to both support the #Newie66 and to also send a message to our governments that we won't be intimidated by new anti-protest laws nor stay silent …

On its Facebook page, 350.org asked users to show their support for the 'courageous action' of the protestors arrested for shutting down the Newcastle coal port. On Twitter, it said it was supporting the 'brave actions' of those facing court. 350.org also described as 'inspiring' a grandmother and small-business owner who said that being arrested and facing court was 'worth it'. I intend to make a submission to the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission, asking it to rule whether this is compatible with 350.org's charity status. (Time expired)