Attacks on charitable advocacy may compel some charities to form their own political parties, writes Community Council for Australia CEO David Crosbie in Pro Bono News.
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CCA provides media commentary on issues important to charities and NFPs and CCA CEO David Crosbie writes fortnightly in Pro Bono News on sector issues. We keep our member CEOs and senior staff up to date via CCA's Daily Diary - a frank daily analysis of the national context, issues and news of interest to charity leaders (all in a two-minute read). Charity leaders who would like to know more, please contact our Partnerships Manager, Deborah Smith, info@communitycouncil.com.au
‘The release of the Joint Standing Committee in Electoral Matters (JSCEM) report into political donations acknowledges the problems and is a step in the right direction, but it still does not clearly identify how a newly drafted Bill will ensure charities can speak up for their causes or their communities without being labelled political actors’, according to David Crosbie, CEO of the Community Council for Australia (CCA).
Charity leaders from across the sector joined parliamentarians at Parliament House today, delivering an Open Letter that urged our law makers not to silence community voices with legislation that conflates advocacy for good policy with political campaigning.
Charities serving our communities are about to be hamstrung by paranoia and legislation that misses its mark. ‘Surely a clever outward looking Australia can do better than copying ineffective US legislation from the 30s and 60s?’ writes CCA CEO David Crosbie in Pro Bono News.
Telling charities they should diversify their income streams is a little like telling football teams they should score more goals – much easier said than done. There is no magic wand a charity CEO can wave across their organisation to suddenly deliver multiple income sources. But there are new income options that might be worth exploring, writes CCA CEO David Crosie in Pro Bono News, 1 March 2018.
CCA's submission outlines key issues in relation to the past performance and future direction of the Australian Charities and Not-for-profit Commission (ACNC) with a focus on possible legislative changes.
Why are we creating a new stolen generation? CCA CEO David Crosbie writes in Pro Bono News that this week should have been one of leadership - bringing less shame, less need to apologise again to our Indigenous peoples. But it wasn’t. How far have we come since Reconciliation?
CCA's submission to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS) expresses concern at the negative impact of the proposed Foreign Influence Transparence Scheme Bill 2017 on many Australian charities. Australian charities are well-regulated by the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) and the Bill's broad 'catch all' terms threaten to ensnare many charities going about their normal activities in support of their charitable purpose. CCA, as does the Law Council of Australia, calls for an exemption for charities registered with the ACNC.
The Electoral Legislation Amendment (Electoral Funding and Disclosure Reform ) Bill 2017 was introduced to the Senate on 7 December.
It seeks to address political influence and foreign donations with a ‘catch all’ approach that fails to recognise that charities are already prohibited from partisan political activity – but have a legitimate role as advocates when speaking up on issues in pursuit of their charitable purpose.
Tim Costello, Chief Advocate for World Vision and CCA Chair talks to Sky News:
CCA CEO David Crosbie shares an extract from his opening statement before the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security inquiry into the Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme Bill, and why the CCA are concerned the proposed legislation could impose new administrative and compliance requirements on charities in Pro Bono News, 1 Feb 2018.