Govt increases funding to Brethren 'cult'

By Steve Cannane for Lateline

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd famously labelled the Exclusive Brethren (EB) a "cult" while in Opposition. But it seems that, in Government, he is more generous to the Christian sect.

Figures obtained by The Greens in Senate Estimates reveal that funding to schools run by the controversial Christian sect have increased by 50 per cent under the Rudd Government.

In 2007, EB schools were receiving just over $9 million in funding from the Howard government.

But NSW Greens MP John Kaye says funding for EB schools around Australia has risen to $13.9 million this year.

"[It is] scheduled to go to about 17.2 million by 2012," he said.

"The Rudd Government did not change the Howard Government's formula that had an in-built escalation in it.

"This is funding going to the schools that Kevin Rudd referred to as being operated by a cult."

Education Minister Julia Gillard was unavailable to comment last night, but a statement from her office said recurrent grants funding for EB schools grew by 14 per cent between 2007 and 2008, reflecting increased enrolments at those schools.

It said final 2009 entitlements will not be known until October.

The statement also said the Government has implemented its election commitment to maintain the current funding arrangements for non-government schools and that a Government review of funding arrangements will get underway next year.

No surprise

Peter Flinn, a former member of the Exclusive Brethren, says he is disturbed by the increase in funding, but not surprised.

He wrote a letter on behalf of 30 ex-members of the EB asking Mr Rudd to establish an inquiry into the brethren.

"They have been the recipients of great generosity from various governments over the years and we're quite concerned about that," he said.

"It's out of all proportion to the number of students. But they are very good at negotiating and lobbying governments."

That lobbying goes back to the days of the Keating and Howard governments.

In the 1990s, two of the main Brethren schools were granted special status known as 'Category 12'.

Michael Bachelard, author of Behind the Exclusive Brethren, says under the old funding model, Category 12 was reserved for Aboriginal schools for children with particular needs.

"Somehow the EB managed to get Category 12 funding for their schools in NSW and SA and to keep it under the new system," he said.

Funding loophole

New schools built by the Brethren are designated as campuses of an already established school.

Under the "funding maintained" principle, set up by the Howard government, these new schools are entitled to the generous funding levels of the schools that already exist.

Mr Flinn says an example within NSW is the main school at Meadowbank in Sydney.

He says they have campuses as far away as Albury, 600 kilometres to the south.

"When the new campuses were established they did not have to go through the whole establishment process under the SES model," he said.

"They were able to retain the ... special position they had been able to obtain under that system and that applied to all other campuses."

An internal Department of Education review of SES funding in 2006 acknowledged that some schools were gaining an advantage in funding by setting up campuses.

The examples highlighted were Brethren schools in NSW.

Revolution benefit

The Brethren's campus system has also allowed them to benefit from the Rudd Government's Building The Education Revolution funding.

The Brisbane campus of the Brethren's Agnew school has been granted $1.65 million to build a library.

To qualify for this level of funding, the school must have between 151 to 300 primary students on site, but the school has only 57 primary students on site.

No-one from the Agnew school was available for comment, but in a written statement the school said: "The central library will, through the use of cutting-edge information and communication technologies, provide all students and teachers across all campuses daily access to services. Materials will be forwarded and returned by either a courier service or post."

One condition of the federal funding for school libraries is that they be open to all members of the local community.

In the written statement to Lateline, a representative from the Agnew school said: "The school has accepted this commitment and the commitment will be met."

While the Agnew school has not acted illegally in tallying up student numbers from across the state, one former Brethren school principal, who did not wish to be identified, told Lateline "it was immoral".


ABC 19-8-9

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/08/19/2659938.htm?WT.mc_id=newsmail

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A little bit more freedom disappears

No-warrant terrorism raids proposed

By National Security correspondent Matt Brown

The Federal Government has unveiled plans to toughen its counter-terrorism laws, including a change to allow police to break into a suspect's home without getting approval from a judge.

It also wants to make it easier to stop suspects getting out of jail on bail.

But the Government is planning to put a cap on the amount of time suspects can be held without charge.

Attorney-General Robert McClelland says the tougher laws would protect Australians.

"The Government is committed to ensuring the focus of Australia's national security and counter-terrorism laws remains on preventing a terrorist attack from occurring in the first place," he said.

But some argue toughening the laws would have the opposite effect.

Nicola McGarrity from the Terrorism Law Project at the University of New South Wales says the laws could take away the protection of the judiciary.

"It's fundamentally undermining the safeguards that exist," she said.

"It's taking away the protection of having a judicial officer make a warrant."

But new limits will be imposed on other controversial powers.

In the case of Dr Mohammed Haneef, who was detained in 2007, police were allowed to question him without charging him for a total of one day.

The clock stops ticking, however, when the suspect goes to sleep or the police need time to check with agencies overseas.

In the end, Dr Haneef was held for 12 days without charge before a magistrate ordered his release.

So Mr McClelland says the Government is planning to introduce an eight-day limit.

"To enable the law enforcement authorities to have that time and balance it against the rights of individuals - that we would hope our society cherishes - and that is the right not to be detained without charge," he said.

But legal analysts, including Ms McGarrity, argue that eight days is still too much time and that the detainment period should be capped at three days.

"What normally happens with police is they exercise those powers up to the extent of those powers," she said.

The Government also wants to press ahead with controversial plans to make it a crime to urge attacks on someone based on their nationality or religion.

The Attorney-General says he has seen intelligence and phone tap logs that back the need for this law.

Mr McClelland says it is the kind of law that could have been used against people involved in attacks on Indian students if nationality, race or religion was the driving force.

Another proposal in the discussion paper released on Wednesday was to make terrorism hoaxes punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

The naming of a terrorist organisation would also stay current for three years, instead of one, before expiring, the paper said.

The public has until September 25 to comment on the discussion paper.

But the Shadow Attorney-General, George Brandis, says he is sceptical about the Government's level of commitment to national security.

"In the last budget, for example, the Australian Federal Police's counter-terrorism program was scaled back by $1.4 million," he said.

"The AFP's intelligence programs were scaled back by $3.2 million. There was a 7 per cent reduction in the staff of the Australian Crime Commission."

ABC 13-8-9

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/08/12/2653998.htm?WT.mc_id=newsmail

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