{"id":248662,"date":"2019-11-19T13:35:14","date_gmt":"2019-11-19T03:35:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=248662"},"modified":"2020-09-17T16:28:19","modified_gmt":"2020-09-17T06:28:19","slug":"aussie-farms-loses-charity-status","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2019\/11\/19\/aussie-farms-loses-charity-status\/","title":{"rendered":"Aussie Farms Loses Charity Status"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Drought Minister and Member for Maranoa David Littleproud<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

November 19, 2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

Member for Maranoa David Littleproud has welcomed the decision by the Charities and Not-For-Profits Commission to strip Aussie Farms – the group behind the controversial “farm invasion” map – of its charitable status.<\/p>\n

Aussie Farms runs a website listing the private details of thousands of Australian farming families.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a win for common sense,\u201d Minister Littleproud said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs Agriculture Minister I wrote to the Charities Commissioner asking him to review Aussie Farms charitable status. Today he acted.<\/p>\n

\u201cI also worked with the Attorney-General to bring Aussie Farms under the Privacy Act with a maximum penalty of $2.1 million for breaching the Act.<\/p>\n

\u201cCharities do not invade people\u2019s privacy and encourage illegal behaviour.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese activists put farming families at risk by encouraging large-scale trespass.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo one wants 50 strangers invading their backyard where their kids play.<\/p>\n

\u201cAussie Farms will lose charity tax benefits after being exposed for what they are \u2013 militant activists.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s time Aussie Farms came to their senses and took their attack map down.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will always stand behind our farmers and farming families who have done nothing wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

The National Farmers Federation also welcomed the news.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Aussie Farms has finally been stripped of its charity status! It follows official complaints by us and hundreds of our members and supporters,” the lobby group announced on Twitter.<\/p>\n

“Thank you to everyone who stood with us to oppose their behaviour!”<\/p>\n

QFF said the organisation would no longer have access to Commonwealth charity tax concessions, including income tax exemption, fringe benefits tax rebates and GST concessions.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe appreciate all levels of government consulting with the agriculture sector and taking a harder stand against these actions and ensuring that the legal protections and the punishments reflect the crimes,\u201d\u00a0QFF CEO Dr Georgina Davis said.<\/p>\n

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