Democracy

Democracy

Speaking up for what’s right is a vital part of the work of charities. We speak up for the vulnerable, for human rights, and to hold the powerful accountable. We speak for the trees.

But right now, the Turnbull government wants to silence us. They plan to introduce legislation which will tell us how to spend our donations, prevent advocacy by organisations who campaign on potential election issues, and restrict the size of donations from people in our community.

If this proposal was law, independent, non-partisan, non-profit organisations who speak out for the common good would be restricted in ...

Speaking up for what’s right is a vital part of the work of charities. We speak up for the vulnerable, for human rights, and to hold the powerful accountable. We speak for the trees.

But right now, the Turnbull government wants to silence us. They plan to introduce legislation which will tell us how to spend our donations, prevent advocacy by organisations who campaign on potential election issues, and restrict the size of donations from people in our community.

If this proposal was law, independent, non-partisan, non-profit organisations who speak out for the common good would be restricted in their vital advocacy.

Community organisations must have a voice in Australian politics to balance the power of big business, polluters and individuals who hold disproportionate wealth and influence.

We will not be silenced. We stand together with other organisations in the charity sector to say hands off our democracy.

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  • Introduce yourself and let them know you are their constituent.
  • The Bill is the Federal Government’s Electoral Legislation Amendment (Electoral Funding and Disclosure Reform) Bill 2017, introduced into the Parliament on 7 December 2017.
  • The Bill should be aimed at stopping dodgy donations to political parties but instead it’s focused on attacking charities. Charities aren’t the problem. It’s time political parties fixed their broken system of getting dodgy donations.
  • Expert legal advice is that the Bill will require people who make donations of more than $250 per year to fill out a statutory declaration witnessed by a police officer or Justice of the Peace
  • The Bill has been strongly criticised by a wide spectrum of non-profit organisations and charities.
  • Charities are already highly regulated by the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profit Commission. Charities are not political parties, but independent non-partisan advocates for a better world.
  • Expert legal advice is that the Bill is so bad that it can’t be fixed. The Bill must be redrafted after extensive consultation with those impacted by it.