“Look, a lot of poor women in this country, a large proportion of whom are Aboriginal, are used as cash cows, right?"            – GARY JOHNS, The Bolt Report, 12 July 2015

Appointing Gary Johns as Charities commissioner signals a major escalation in the Turnbull Government’s war on charities.

Gary Johns must resign for the good of the sector. 

Support our charities by adding your name to the petition I will table in parliament. 

Here's the full text:

Authorised by the Shadow Minister for Charities and Not for Profits - Andrew Leigh MP, 8/1 Torrens Street, Braddon ACT 2612.

Australians overwhelmingly trust the charity sector to give voice to their concerns on vital issues like the environment, health, education, Indigenous advancement and inequality.

By contrast, Gary Johns has used his public roles to denigrate causes that matter deeply to many Australians and the motives of existing charities:

‘There is a great deal of impure altruism in the charity business’  -  The Charity Ball, 2014

“The Abbott government promised to abolish the Charities Act 2013, which includes advocacy as a charitable purpose. It must make good that promise in a way that makes it clear to the High Court that advocacy is not a charitable purpose.”  -  The Australian, 2 December 2014

“[Indigenous reconciliation charity] Recognise is the officially sanctioned propaganda arm of the Australian Government”  -  The Charity Ball, 2014

“The Beyond Blue line that the tragedy of some LGBTI people is all about discrimination and nothing to do with sexual identity is not supported by evidence. An attempt to draw conclusions unsupported by evidence does no dignity to the national debate and is not remotely the work of a charity.”  -  The Australian, 8 September 2015

“[Parliament’s inquiry into environmental charities] should question the presumption of public benefit in environmental charities”  -  The Australian, 8 April 2015

“If a person’s sole source of income is the taxpayer, the person, as a condition of benefit, must have contraception. No contraception, no benefit.”  -  The Australian, 30 December, 2014

“Look, a lot of poor women in this country, a large proportion of whom are Aboriginal, are used as cash cows, right?" – appearing on The Bolt Report, 12 July 2015

Gary Johns’ attitude towards our charities and his views on many of the vulnerable communities they work with make his role as Charities Commissioner untenable.

For these reasons, we the undersigned believe that Gary Johns is unfit to lead Australia’s charity regulator. We call on the House to guard the independence of our charities by seeking his resignation.

The Turnbull government has been working systematically to limit the public role of charities.

In recent months, the conservative war on charities has escalated.

Charities are being asked to defend the role of the charities commission and to fight for their right to be public advocates on important issues like domestic violence, indigenous opportunity, public health, conservation and sustainable energy.

ANDREW LEIGH - SHADOW MINISTER FOR CHARITIES AND NOT-FOR-PROFITS

AUSTRALIAN CHARITIES ARE UNDER ATTACK

I’m worried that many charities, along with the people who support them in our community, are not aware of the government’s plans.

Please sign up to stay informed and to show your support for charities that are working everyday to improve our communities.