A private members bill is in front of the Parliament to allow the Celeste Barber millions to be spent where it was intended. The charity clearly states that it helps people in rural and remote communities and victims of disaster which is utterly misleading and needs to be corrected immediately.
Deborah Cornwall reported in the Australian on May 6th that the fate of the $53 million raised by Celeste Berber at the bushfire relief concert at the ANZ Stadium was headed to the Supreme Court.
A news roundup from across the country for the last week. The failure to distribute half of the bushfire appeal funds is the headline story.
The NSW Rural Fire Service & Brigades Donations Fund (the Trust) is a public fund established for the purpose of supporting the volunteer-based fire and emergency service activities of the NSW RFS brigades.
Here is an opportunity to get behind the Volunteer Firefighter, Oliver.
Oliver was wrongly accused whilst on duty. He spent 2 years and $105,339.20 fighting these wrongful accusations with no support from the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS).
Go Fund Me campaign to help Oliver has now been launched. Donate now…
This interview by Ray Hadley with neurosurgeon Charlie Teo highlights the problems associated with the fundraising activities of a range of charities.
The money that is gobbled up extends way beyond the administration costs of the fundraising collection company.
The RFSA telemarketing scandal has damaged the reputation of the RFSA as seen in this newspaper editorial.
We are still waiting to find out how much was spent on the RFSA birthday celebrations at Penrith Panthers using money donated by the public.
Graham French and Barry Mac (formerly the morning show team at South Coast Radio 2ST) are moving back to Community Radio.
The show starts on Thur, 12th Jan at 9:00am on Community Radio Triple U FM.
Don’t miss this first program with the VFFA President, Mick Holton talking about four key areas of VFFA focus:
1. Bullying and Harassment
2. Let’s put the RURAL back into the Rural Fire Service
3. Funding Arrangements
4. Common sense approaches towards firefighting and land management
The Rural Fire Service Association (RFSA) will not disclose how much their 20th Anniversary celebrations cost and where the money came from.
Did attendees make a contribution?
Did Panthers do the RFSA a special deal?
Were special guests looked after in the, now famous RFSA “Gala” style?
Were there any special guests flown in and at what cost?
Was it all paid for using RFSA funds that were generated from generous public donations and raffle ticket sales?
How many new style firefighting helmets, radios or other much sought after items could this event (and others like it) have funded?
Perhaps those who have made donations and purchased raffle tickets will think twice before doing so again unless the RFSA provides a great deal more transparency.
Rural communities are not impressed. The VFFA campaign to put the RURAL back into the Rural Fire Service will continue…. the next state election will be interesting.
It was brought to our attention that the NSW RFS has a web page titled “Support your local brigade” where you can make a donation directly to your local brigade.
The NSW RFS and Westpac needs to be congratulated on providing this method of fundraising.
We are not letting the RFSA off the hook, they need to spend more on brigades, come clean on their expenditure and improve transparency if they expect to retain public support.