The future of ethics classes in NSW is in doubt, the provider says, after the federal government refused to allow it to collect tax-deductible donations in the same way providers of scripture classes in state schools do.
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Funds established for providing religious instruction in public schools in Australia can claim Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) status, a provision that is used by some religious groups to fund training and support for scripture classes in NSW.
The provider of ethics classes, Primary Ethics, which receives no government funding, made a special application to the federal government to also be granted DGR status, to fund ongoing training of its own volunteers and to develop its curriculum.
The chairman of Primary Ethics, Bruce Hogan, said the organisation was surprised when that request was recently rejected by the federal government, despite the growing demand for ethics classes in this state.
''We have spent two years quietly really trying to make the Commonwealth government see sense,'' he said. ''If Primary Ethics is to survive we can't let it rest.''
About 7000 students in NSW are expected to take ethics classes this year as an alternative to scripture, though many schools have waiting lists or do not provide the classes because there are not enough trained volunteers.
After a recent state government inquiry into ethics classes, the O'Farrell government affirmed the right of ethics classes to continue to be taught as an alternative to scripture but resisted calls from the Greens to lobby the federal government for DGR status.
Mr Hogan said the federal government's recent decision left them in an impossible position.
''On the one had the state government says you have to survive by donations, and on the other hand [the federal government] says we're denying you capacity to go out and collect donations,'' he said.
In his letter, the Assistant Treasurer, David Bradbury, said he did not believe there were sufficient reasons for ethics classes to get the tax concession.
''I have looked at whether Primary Ethics is providing a unique and broad public benefit which is sufficient to warrant the philanthropic tax concession relative to the needs of other taxpayers,'' he wrote. ''On balance I do not consider that there are sufficient exceptional circumstances to warrant the listing of Primary Ethics Ltd as a DGR.''
A spokesman for the Anglican Diocese of Sydney confirmed it has a fund which has DGR status used to fund special religious education in schools. Some other churches contacted by Fairfax Media said funding was drawn from general church revenue.
The Greens MP John Kaye said ethics classes were constantly fighting an ''uphill battle'' and said the O'Farrell government should call on Mr Bradbury to reverse his decision.
''Primary Ethics has been left struggling for the cash it needs to develop curriculum materials and recruit and train new volunteers to meet the rising demand for their classes, while tax deductibility fattens up the coffers of the religious organisations providing scripture classes,'' he said.
Primary Ethics has received some financial support from the St James Ethics Centre, which has DGR status. However, the executive director, Simon Longstaff, said the ethics centre could not act as a ''letterbox'' for donations to Primary Ethics.
smh.com.au
