The Standing Committee on the Environment in the Australian House of Representatives (which is dominated by Coalition MPs) recently established an inquiry into the tax deductible status of environmental organisations.
This is being widely seen as an attempt by the Federal Coalition Government to limit the ability of conservation groups ( particularly the larger ones such as Greenpeace, the World Wildlife Fund for Nature, the Wilderness Society and the Nature Conservation Council of NSW) to campaign against developments which threaten the health of the natural environment.
The inquiry was set up in response to lobbying from the mining industry and various mining lobby groups such as the Minerals Council. These groups are concerned about the effective campaigns environment groups are running against unsustainable developments such as the Galilee Basin coal proposals, the Abbot Point development adjacent to the Barrier Reef and coal seam gas mining in NSW and elsewhere. These mining interests and various Coalition MPs claim that environment groups should only have tax deductible status if they are engaging in on-the-ground environmental activities such as tree planting and bush regeneration.
There are almost 600 environmental organisations on the Register of Environmental Organisations under the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997.
Apparently the inquiry has been deluged with submissions supporting the retention of the tax deductible status of environmental organisations.
The inquiry was set up in response to lobbying from the mining industry and various mining lobby groups such as the Minerals Council. These groups are concerned about the effective campaigns environment groups are running against unsustainable developments such as the Galilee Basin coal proposals, the Abbot Point development adjacent to the Barrier Reef and coal seam gas mining in NSW and elsewhere. These mining interests and various Coalition MPs claim that environment groups should only have tax deductible status if they are engaging in on-the-ground environmental activities such as tree planting and bush regeneration.
There are almost 600 environmental organisations on the Register of Environmental Organisations under the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997.
Apparently the inquiry has been deluged with submissions supporting the retention of the tax deductible status of environmental organisations.
The Clarence Valley Conservation Coalition's submission to this inquiry is copied below.
Submission to the
Inquiry into the Register of Environmental Organisations
Under the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997
The Clarence
Valley Conservation Coalition Inc (CVCC)
believes that the environment groups who are deductible gift recipients (DGRs)
should continue to have this status because of the valuable work they perform
in protecting the natural environment whether it be through land-care type
activities or lobbying (political or
otherwise) or education or a combination of these.
1. Introduction
The CVCC is a community group based in Grafton in the
Clarence Valley in the NSW Northern Rivers.
It was formed in 1988 and has been involved with environmental issues –
both locally and further afield – since that time. Like many other small environment groups it
does not have tax-deductible status and obtains funding for its activities
through membership subscriptions and donations.
Much of its work is done by members volunteering their time and
expertise.
2. Environment
Groups with DGR Status
However, many environment groups, particularly the larger
ones, do have tax-deductibility which assists them to fund their operations in
education and lobbying activities as well as hands-on landcare-style
activities. These funds are obviously
used for a variety of purposes such as employing staff or commissioning
reports, purchasing equipment and stationery and reimbursing travel expenses.
3. Importance of
Environmental Protection
These DGR environmental
groups perform a very valuable community service – a service of protecting the natural environment. Maintaining a healthy natural environment is
vital to humanity as well as to all other species.
As Kevin Evans, National Parks Association of NSW
Executive Officer, pointed out in March this year: “Healthy ecosystems provide billions of
dollars of goods and services essential for the wellbeing of local communities
and businesses. A safe, healthy and
sustainable future can only be achieved if we conserve the natural places and
ecosystems that provide us with clean air and water and other benefits.”
There are many threats to the maintenance of healthy
ecosystems. These include rising carbon
pollution, extensive land clearing, illegal and unsustainable logging,
overfishing, water pollution, inappropriate and environmentally damaging
development and issues associated with the expansion of coal seam gas and coal
mining. Many of these threats to the
natural environment also directly threaten human health or have negative
impacts on local communities.
4. Governments and Environmental Protection
If our
community could rely on governments and their agencies and legislation to
protect them and the natural ecosystems from environmental threats, there would
be no need for environment groups such as the CVCC and those who have DGR
status to engage in political activities including lobbying of politicians,
issuing media releases, writing letters to the media and so on.
Political
activity is necessary to raise awareness and to ensure that the needs of the
natural environment (which obviously does not have a voice) are placed in the
public domain. It is quite unreasonable
to expect that those concerned with environmental protection should button
their lips and just meekly do tree-planting and other on-ground activities and
ignore threats which will ultimately abrogate their tree-planting efforts.
5. Environment Groups Aid
Transparency
Another important function of environment groups is their role in
bringing a level of transparency into the public domain about the impacts of
major developments that are promoted by industry and often supported by
governments which do not always acknowledge (or even recognise) the deleterious
impacts these proposed developments may have on the environment or on local
communities. The larger environment groups - those with DGR status - obviously
have a greater capacity for doing this. Sadly, governments do not always
welcome transparency – but, in a democracy, transparency is vital to ensure
that government is working in the community interest.
6. The Right to Engage in Political Activity
Any change
to the tax deductibility status of DGR environment groups because of their
engagement in political activity would go against the High Court decision Aid/Watch incorporate v Commissioner of
Taxation 2010. This case confirmed
the right of DGR listed groups to engage in political debate and advocacy.
The CVCC
hopes that this Inquiry will recognise that environment groups perform an
invaluable service for the community – and future generations – and acknowledge
that those groups which have DGR status should continue to have that status.
