The Smart Energy Council has defended its efforts in advocating for stronger federal clean energy and climate policies, after a Liberal senator lodged a complaint to the charities regulator.
Addressing media at the Smart Energy Expo in Sydney, SEC chief executive John Grimes said the industry body is dedicated to supporting better policies and that if the federal Coalition wants its support, it should “give us policies that we can endorse.”
As reported by the Sydney Morning Herald, Liberal senator Andrew Bragg has referred the Smart Energy Council to the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission – the body that regulates registered charities – to investigate whether the industry body should be stripped of its charity status due to its political engagement.
Bragg wrote to the commission pointing to the Smart Energy Council’s support for independent, Greens and Labor candidates, alleging the body was in breach of prohibitions on political advocacy by charities by undertaking “prohibited activities against the current government”.
Grimes defended the SEC’s engagement with political candidates, saying the industry body had sought to engage with representatives from all sides of politics and was committed to advocating for stronger clean energy policies rather than backing particular sides of politics.
“We are all about policy. We’re not about politics. We’re about good policy, not about the political parties,” Grimes said.
“When independent candidates put up plans to significantly advance the cause of our industry, I will standby them every day.”
“But I’ll tell you this, if the federal government retard our progress, shackle us to the past, then we will call that out every single day.”
“Off the top of my head, there have been at least 20 times that we’ve invited federal energy minister Angus Taylor to be a keynote speaker at our events over many, many years, and he declines every single time,” Grimes added.
“If the federal government want us to provide them a platform to endorse their policies, give us policies that we can endorse.”
Grimes told RenewEconomy that the criticism had clearly been motivated by the re-election threat faced by several Liberal MPs from candidates that offered a much more ambitious set of climate and clean energy policies.
In referring the Smart Energy Council to the charities commission, Bragg cited the personal connections and interactions of staff of the clean energy body with political parties and independent candidates.
Grimes noted that representatives from all sides of politics had been invited to attend and address the Smart Energy Expo, currently being held in Sydney.
Representatives from Labor, the Greens and a number of independent candidates will address the expo. NSW state Liberal MP Felicity Wilson addressed the conference on Wednesday. Federal energy minister Angus Taylor declined an invitation to attend.
The Morrison government has sought to clamp down on the amount of political advocacy being undertaken by registered charities, a push that has been broadly criticised by the charities sector as an attempt to silence dissent against the Coalition government.
The loss of charity status can have significant ramifications for organisations, including the loss of income tax exemptions and the tax-deductibility of donations the charity receives.
