Rex Patrick (SA, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission Amendment (2021 Measures No. 2) Regulations 2021, made under the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission Act 2012, be disallowed [F2021L00863].

The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission Amendment (2021 Measures No. 2) Regulations 2021 should be disallowed as they amount to a prohibition of freedom of political communication and expression and expose charities to the risk of deregistration for actions most Australians accept as a right and in which they may have engaged, such as peaceful protests and sit-ins. Quite simply, the intent of these regulations is to stop charities engaging in lawful advocacy in pursuit of their charitable purpose. Millions of Australians donate, volunteer and are otherwise involved in charities every year. They provide frontline services in the areas of climate change, domestic violence, homelessness, refugee issues and a vast range of other social issues—issues this government doesn't really care about. Charities have raised issues and continue to advocate on issues such as black deaths in custody and the end of gender-based violence.

These regulations would have huge consequences for the ability of charities to speak up and advocate on behalf of the communities they represent and are part of. Further, these regulations impose far harsher penalties on charities for any minor offence than on any other corporate citizen. Charities don't even have to have committed an offence. The Commissioner of the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission only needs to believe they might. If he believes that, they can be deregistered or refused registration. Charities are being held to a higher standard than any other organisation simply because the government is now going to categorise all their activities and advocacy as political activity.

There is a huge contrast here. Someone could have a sit-in to draw attention to an issue, and their charity could be deregistered. But we have sports rorts, car park rorts, blind trusts and the misappropriation of public moneys and that all gets written up in some report by the Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Mr Gaetjens, and sent to the dirty little secrets committee of cabinet—that is, the governance committee of cabinet that was established under Tony Abbott. Basically, it ensures that if you want to write about the government and its illegal activities you simply have it funnelled to that committee and you won't see the results for the next 20 years. How convenient that is. Concerningly, these regulations would hold a charity responsible even where an unknown member of the public simply comments on a charity's Facebook post and encourages people to participate in a demonstration, say a sit-in. That would be grounds for deregistration.

There is no doubt that this will have a chilling effect on charities. It's obvious that this is intended to silence public discourse and action on political matters that impact charities and the Australian communities they assist. Am I being alarmist here? No. I refer all senators to the report of the Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Delegated Legislation. They are absolutely concerned about what I've just talked about. Charities will have no choice but to stay silent, out of fear of being shut down, and that is no accident. This is an intentional and deliberate method this government has chosen in order to wield more control and avoid being held to account. The government have become more and more autocratic, shutting down debate and criticism, avoiding accountability and using other quietening techniques they feel necessary to get themselves back into government.

The government justifies these regulations as being needed to boost trust in the charities sector. Seriously? Charities are one of the most trusted sectors in the Australian community, certainly more than politicians, and yet this is what is being wielded at them. To suggest that these regulations are needed to shore up the public's confidence in the sector is patently false. Is there any institution that requires new laws to increase public trust? Certainly not in this sector. The government needs to get its priorities right. The minister made further amendments to these regulations on 11 November, imposing additional reporting requirements and clarifying that the types of summary offences that relate to impairment of an individual's health were only intended to cover offences relating to causing physical harm to an individual. These new amendments do not alter the substantive effect of the regulations subject to this disallowance motion.

I want to end by quoting a few of the more than 100 charities who have expressed grave concerns about the regulation. The Barnardos Australia CEO, Deirdre Cheers, says: 'We are currently helping more than 13,000 children in need. If we have to turn even one of those children away, due to increased cost, it will be a tragedy.' The Fred Hollows Foundation CEO, Ian Wishart, says:

Fred Hollows was well known for speaking out and demanding action from our political leaders. It's a key role of charities to advocate for those who don't have a voice. These laws limit the ability of charities to raise important issues and hold people in power to account. They have no place anywhere in the world, let alone Australia, where freedom of assembly and political participation, and basic human rights, are the cornerstone of our democratic society.

Anglicare Australia says:

… charity is not just about helping people in poverty. It's about creating a country where poverty doesn't exist. That's why we need to be able to stand up for the people we work with.

These rules are designed to stop organisations like Anglicare Australia from speaking up for our communities and our country by punishing us—and shutting us down for arbitrary reasons.

They are not just an attack on charities. They are an attack on democracy.

…   …   …

We're also calling on the Government to withdraw these changes—and end these attacks for good.

They are wise words, and I ask senators to pay attention to them.

This regulation is an awful regulation. If we look at the statement that our own committee has made on its concerns about this regulation, it's plainly obvious that the government has gone way too far here. It's unnecessary regulation, and I urge the Senate to assist me in having it disallowed.