In 2004, Warwick Marsh’s Fatherhood Foundation banded together with the Australian Christian Lobby and the Australian Family Association (a National Civic Council front organisation) to form the National Marriage Coalition. This little-known group successfully persuaded the federal government to amend the Marriage Act so as to exclude same-sex partners from marrying.

According to a Foundation email newsletter of 21 May 2006:

The Australian Government has now recognised the Fatherhood Foundation as a registered Harm Prevention Charity by granting Tax Deductible status to it. This means that all gifts of money, or in some cases property, can become a tax saving to the giver. This level of recognition as a Harm Prevention Tax Deductible Charity allows us to help the children of Australia in an even greater way than ever before.

How does the Fatherhood Foundation actually help children? It claims to do so:

… by promoting excellence in fathering. Excellent fathers are in word and deed: responsible, involved, protective, loving and committed to the well-being of their children and their children’s mother. (Email newsletter, 28 May 2006)

Tax deductibility status of this sort is highly prized by charitable organisations, but is not normally granted to political advocacy groups. The Fatherhood Foundation spends much of its time and resources in pressing for legislative change such as the anti-same-sex marriage amendment described above. The group is strongly anti-abortion, pro-censorship and has actively lobbied for the Family Law Act to be amended so as to strengthen ‘fathers’ rights’. Regardless of one’s views on these issues, it seems that the government has granted tax deductibility status to an organisation whose primary activity is political lobbying.

To conclude, the Foundation also publishes some very strange correspondence in its email newsletters (including those in which it announced its new tax deductibility status). If you were the editor of a ‘children’s charity’ journal or paper, would you publish letters like these?

After reading [your] mag last week, it is not hard to fume and feel quite enraged at the way our society treats men … I could type for hours on this subject but the only way men are going to get justice is to await the inevitable ‘incidents’ that will draw the attention of men and the Government … Feminism exists to promote the domination of men by Lesbians. Simple. There will be more tragedies involving men. In the future, they will cause a lot more damage and take a lot more people with them … I am looking forward to the day when the pressure cooker pops. (’Alex’, 28 May 2006)

Yes I sadly read the crap some dads have to digest to be allowed to see their children. Yes I want to vomit! Here in Qld this new politically correct advertisement makes me spew. It says listen to your wives, if she says no it means no. Also hitting [your] wife is abuse. Excuse me dumb government, my ex-bitch wanted me to hit her, I never did. She left and now lives with a piss-head who does hit and keep her in line. She now complains to me he has no respect for her. Hate to say it, ‘It seems we are damned if we do and doubly damned if we don’t’. We are wrong because we are male, yes we are not perfect, we came from a woman. (’Michael’, 28 May 2006)

For the federal government to grant tax deductibility status to this organisation seems quite extraordinary.

Filed in: Christian Right, Politics