[Greens-Media] Greens secure win for community advocacy

[Redman, Chris (Sen R. Siewert)]

16 May 2013

Greens secure win for community advocacy

The Australian Greens have welcomed the passage of the Not-for-Profit Sector Freedom to Advocate Bill 2013 through the Senate today.

"This legislation enacts a critical recommendation made by the Australian Greens during the debate on the Australian Charities & Not for Profit Commission late last year," Senator Siewert said today.

"Today's vote protects the independence of the not-for-profit sector by ensuring that government can't use its position, often of sole-funder status, to stop not-for-profit advocacy as part of any contracting clauses.  

"We saw this happen under the Howard Government and there are threats that history will repeat itself in Queensland under Campbell Newman. We don't want to see any Commonwealth Government doing this again.

"The not-for-profit sector plays a critical role in delivering services and supports to communities. Their advocacy is critical to our democracy.

"For example, without the work of the Disability sector -advocates, service providers and people with disability working together, I doubt that we would have seen a huge reform like as the NDIS finally realised in in Parliament today.

"No government that truly wants to make this country a better place should expect not-for-profit organisations to quietly provide services but not advocate for their clients or call for systemic change where it is needed.

"During the ACNC Bill debate, the Government also adopted our recommendation to ensure that the governance standards in that Bill could not impinge on the independence nor the advocacy role of not-for-profit organisations. 

"The adoption of these two recommendations in legislation will help safe guard the independence of the sector.

"I am glad that the Greens have been able to drive the development of such safeguards for a sector which is so crucial to our society," Senator Siewert concluded.