CANBERRA — Thursday, November 15, 2018:  For more than a year 350 Australia, along with many partners in the Hands off our Charities (HooC) Alliance, has been fighting attacks by the federal government on civil society, in particular, the right to advocate on issues important to Australians. Today, the Australian Senate voted to support a foreign donations bill with bipartisan support that is vastly better than the bill that was first introduced in December 2017.

“350 Australia applauds the government and opposition for listening to the community over the last 12 months resulting this heavily amended bill. As a foundation member of the HooC alliance, we have seen an extraordinary united campaign demanding that core agreed principles, our red line principles are reflected in the proposed law,” said Glen Klatovsky, 350.org’s Campaign Strategist.

“350 Australia supports efforts in our Parliament to stop the influence of money on Australian politics. This bill will help stop foreign influence. It is time to stop any vested interest buying influence in Canberra.”

“We are still concerned that this amendment doesn’t address the increased red tape and administration required by charities through this and other recent legislation and will continue to work to reduce the burden on charities so that they can focus on the core work we do,” Klatovsky said.

“There is much to be done to protect our democracy, but today has been a good step forward to ensure charities can continue to do the important work we do. We hope the foreign donations bill will be passed through Parliament next week,” said Klatovsky.

For interviews:

Glen Klatovsky 350.org Australia on 0410 482 243; glen@350.org.au.