Farmhand gives back $500,000: [3 All-round Metro Edition]
Stapleton, John. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 21 Nov 2002: 5.
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Abstract
“AWI applied unacceptable pressure to the Red Cross to firstly impose conditions on the donation and then later, to have it refunded. The AWI has sought to change those guidelines … We have received donations from thousands of Australians. No one except the AWI sought to impose conditions.”
Managing director of AWI Col Dorber said last night that it had been the understanding when the money was donated that beyond the immediate crisis money from Farmhand would be given to research and development.
Full Text
FARMHAND and the Red Cross have been forced to refund a $500,000 donation because of the conditions attached to it.
An unseemly squabble came to a head yesterday after the Red Cross handed back the money to Australian Wool Innovation. AWI is the research and development wing of the wool industry. Its funding comes from a levy on wool growers.
Yesterday Farmhand Foundation chairman Bob Mansfield said AWI had demanded and received a full refund. He said the actions were dishonorable and unAustralian.
“How can a farmers’ organisation deny emergency aid to fellow farmers devastated by the drought?” he said.
“AWI applied unacceptable pressure to the Red Cross to firstly impose conditions on the donation and then later, to have it refunded. The AWI has sought to change those guidelines … We have received donations from thousands of Australians. No one except the AWI sought to impose conditions.”
Simon Chapman, president of Wool Growers, said the donation was indicative of “concerns we had about the governance of theformer board of AWI”. He said the statutory funding agreement for the research body clearly committed the money to research and development.
“It seems an extraordinary pathway that whoever presented this donation to Farmhand was ignorant or unaware or breached that agreement. We would anticipate that the newly elected board would address this matter with some urgency.”
Managing director of AWI Col Dorber said last night that it had been the understanding when the money was donated that beyond the immediate crisis money from Farmhand would be given to research and development.
Mr Dorber said that after making the donation it was discovered that as a charity the Red Cross “could not sign the conditions of the funding agreement”.