Charities are being told they are free to speak out again on issues such as poverty, law reform and climate action, with the new Assistant Minister for Charities promising that gag clauses will either be removed or not be enforced.
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Andrew Leigh, who is also the Assistant Minister for Competition and Treasury and member for the federal ACT seat of Fenner, is moving to get the politics and a lot of paperwork out of charities.
In an interview with The Canberra Times, Dr Leigh also spelt out his drive to put trust back into government and to double "powerful" and "transformative" Australian philanthropy by 2030.
But, the assistant minister's first task is to liberate charities.
"The Liberals wanted charities to be seen and not heard. To serve in soup kitchens, but not to talk about poverty. To plant trees, but not to talk about climate change. To help out legal clients, but not to talk about law reform," Dr Leigh said.
"That approach to charitable advocacy is in stark contrast with the Albanese government's approach.
"We will not enforce gag clauses in social services agreements where they exist, and we'll get rid of gag clauses in future social service agreements. So we want charities voices to be heard."
He is enthused about the charities role which he held in opposition, saying he does not think any Charities Minister has "ever wanted the portfolio as much as I do".
Dr Leigh's mission is to crack down on unnecessary paperwork through modernising and standardising the current pre-internet system of state and territory regulation. He said the sector is losing more than a million dollars a month complying with unnecessary paperwork when it should be online and national. He said Labor will engage Treasury to work with the sector.
"Charities shouldn't be muzzled and charities shouldn't be wasting their time filling out unnecessary forms," he said. "We can also work more collaboratively with charities to try and figure out how to raise their productivity.
"This is a massive sector. It's over a tenth of employment. Nearly a tenth of GDP. There's three million volunteers in Australia. So even a modest improvement in the productivity of charities has a huge benefit right across the sector."
During the election, Labor set the ambitious goal of doubling philanthropic giving by 2030. Dr Leigh still regards the target as "doable" and can only be helped by freeing their voices.
"We believe that part of it is the recognition that charities have a role in advocacy, because donors often like to give to organisations that are active in the public debate," he said.
But there's the culture of giving to tackle.
Dr Leigh regards falling trust in government as part of the picture, with a general mistrust that taxes are spent well.
"What I want to do with the charities portfolio, to treat it a bit like a community building portfolio and see the big challenges, but also the great opportunities from creating a more connected Australia," he said.
"We need to rebuild trust with that important sector."
