Celeste Barber may well be forgiven for her misunderstanding of the RFS Charity. When you look at this description of the charity:
https://www.acnc.gov.au/charity/3fa2a436e549c7e5c931ae6b5a110178
It clearly states who the charity helps:
- People in rural/regional/remote communities
- Victims of disaster
- General community in Australia
In the fine print it tells the truth: Funds are utilised to purchase equipment for use by NSW Rural Fire Brigades across the State.
Hmmmm …..
There is currently a private members bill in front of the house which looks to amend the original bill with these words:
Despite the terms of the deed, the trustees may pay or apply relevant
trust money for the purpose of providing support or assistance to any
one or more of the following—
(a) the families of volunteer rural fire fighters killed while providing
rural fire services,
(b) volunteer rural fire fighters injured while providing rural fire
services,
(c) people and organisations providing care to animals injured or
displaced by bush fires,
(d) people and communities that are significantly affected by bush
fires.
The entire bill is here:
https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/bill/files/3757/First%20Print.pdf
We still think that our solution of creating a new RFS Benevolent Fund is much more elegant.