What part of Senator Milne’s comments in Australian Parliament yesterday did the Exclusive Brethren not understand? Leaving aside the issue of the Hales-endorsed political smear campaigns, the false names and addresses on the various smear advertisements, the world-wide orchestrated political contributions, the sudden payments into tyre companies that then paid for the printing and/or advertising …
We could even leave aside the trail of broken families, the suicides and wrecked lives that are directly attributable to the Exclusive Brethren.
Senator Milne outlined some basic arithmetic for the Australian people.
It should be looked at by every tax-paying Australian.
She said:
“I want to go to the schools argument for a moment. In his contribution Senator Brown talked about letters that he had had from people who have left the Exclusive Brethren. They told absolutely heart wrenching stories of what it has meant to them to lose their families, and they are actually supporting and wanting an inquiry into the behaviour of this cult. The Prime Minister has acknowledged that it is a cult and yet we understand that the government is not going to support this inquiry. I simply do not understand why the government is not going to support an inquiry into this sect, and I give notice now that I will be seeking to have incorporated into the Hansard these particular letters. I will quote from one of them in relation to schools, and this is of particular interest to me because I understand how the Exclusive Brethren get around the current funding arrangements. In order to qualify for federal government funding for non-government schools you have to have a certain number of students, so what they do is register one school and declare that it has up to 20 campuses all around the state, sometimes as far away as 600 kilometres or whatever from the school. So they set up a whole range of small schools and then claim it to be one school for the purposes of federal government funding.
I would like to know how the Howard government justified a 36 per cent increase in federal government funding for Brethren schools during the Howard years. It went from $10 million over three years to an estimated $50 million over four years for a national student population in total of about 2,000. How is that possible? Earlier today the coalition was talking about wanting transparency and openness in terms of government processes. I want transparency and openness as to how it is that taxpayers’ money is being used to fund the schools of a cult which do not allow the same access to information technology that is required under the curriculum that other students are required to have. I want to know how it is that we are using federal government taxpayers’ funding in schools which actively prevent kids from going on to further education and which actively prevent girls from doing subjects in the manual arts. I find that quite interesting. ”
Senator Christine Milne
Australian Parliament
August 27th, 2008
Let’s look at some facts.
Australia population: 20,434,176 Est. (See Note 1)
Tax-paying population: 10,950,000 Est. (See Note 1)
Contribution to Exclusive Brethren Schools: AUS$50 million
# of Exclusive Brethren students: 2,000
Based on the above:
- Every Australian tax-payer paid approximately AUS$4.56 direct to the Exclusive Brethren school system over a four year period.
- In effect, the Australian Government paid AUS$25,000 to every Exclusive Brethren student over 4 years. (AUS$6,250 per year)
That is indeed very generous – particularly as the leader of the Exclusive Brethren stated in ‘Living Our Beliefs’:
OUR CONTRIBUTION TO THE ECONOMY
Over the past forty years the Brethren have gradually left the employ of non-Brethren companies and institutions and moved into our own businesses. This trend greatly accelerated during the 1970s and 1980s due to a desire to reach a closer accommodation with the Scriptures. Gross turnover of all Brethren businesses in Australia is about $2.2 billion, providing a great contribution to the Australian economy.
With a gross turnover in 2007 of AUS $2.2 billion, The Exclusive Brethren are in a position to contribute considerably more to their own educational requirements than the rest of the population. This is particularly relevant when one considers the extraordinary measures the EB take in using tax-free Trusts to channel funds from all over the world.
With his name written into every Exclusive Brethren Meeting Room Trust throughout the world, Bruce Hales is one of the largest international controllers of real-estate. For this reason alone, the Exclusive Brethren are desperate to maintain their tax-exempt status on their locked, fenced and gated windowless halls. (See Note 3)
Even a conservative 4.5% of the claimed Australian EB GDP contribution would channel AUS$100 million to their children.
And then there is the question of ROI – what does the Australian economy receive in return? The Exclusive Brethren ban university education to their members. They ban any form of professional association. Aa a result, their schools have to be staffed by non-Exclusive Brethren qualified teachers. (See Note 2)
EB Girls have one task ahead of them – to become homemakers. EB Boys can only work for another EB business, or start their own. The Australian economy is certainly benefiting from their contribution (albeit limited) to the GDP, but what of the Community? Should not generosity of this magnitude benefit the Australian people as a whole?
One wonders what the real reasons are behind a tally of now three failed attempts to get an inquiry started?
It cannot be their comparative contribution to the Australian GDP (AUS $980 billion in 2007 (See Note 1)) as this equates to just 0.2%.
Is it the fear of being seen as acting in a discriminatory fashion? How many suicides and broken families will it take before the Australian government recognizes that they are not only harboring but are actively supporting a tiny minority that have no interest in either the communities they live in or in contributing to the human family anywhere.
As the headline blazes, “Leave us alone”. This is exactly what they want.
The Exclusive Brethren leaders know what will be discovered once the inevitable inquiry begins.
For the sake of the children who are being carefully segregated from a wider society and wider choices, we trust that the Australian people will start doing some arithmetic of their own and start to demand answers.
From our perspective, we just want our families back.
We miss them.
Thank you Bob Brown and Chris Milne for trying again.
Lisarow R.A.I.D.
Lisarow Residents Against Inappropriate Development – a group of Lisarow residents in Australia who are objecting to an Exclusive Brethren invasion of their peaceful rural valley.
“Leave us alone” – Exclusive Brethren
August 27, 2008
We could even leave aside the trail of broken families, the suicides and wrecked lives that are directly attributable to the Exclusive Brethren.
Senator Milne outlined some basic arithmetic for the Australian people.
It should be looked at by every tax-paying Australian.
She said:
Let’s look at some facts.
Based on the above:
- Every Australian tax-payer paid approximately AUS$4.56 direct to the Exclusive Brethren school system over a four year period.
- In effect, the Australian Government paid AUS$25,000 to every Exclusive Brethren student over 4 years. (AUS$6,250 per year)
That is indeed very generous – particularly as the leader of the Exclusive Brethren stated in ‘Living Our Beliefs’:
With a gross turnover in 2007 of AUS $2.2 billion, The Exclusive Brethren are in a position to contribute considerably more to their own educational requirements than the rest of the population. This is particularly relevant when one considers the extraordinary measures the EB take in using tax-free Trusts to channel funds from all over the world.
With his name written into every Exclusive Brethren Meeting Room Trust throughout the world, Bruce Hales is one of the largest international controllers of real-estate. For this reason alone, the Exclusive Brethren are desperate to maintain their tax-exempt status on their locked, fenced and gated windowless halls. (See Note 3)
Even a conservative 4.5% of the claimed Australian EB GDP contribution would channel AUS$100 million to their children.
And then there is the question of ROI – what does the Australian economy receive in return? The Exclusive Brethren ban university education to their members. They ban any form of professional association. Aa a result, their schools have to be staffed by non-Exclusive Brethren qualified teachers. (See Note 2)
EB Girls have one task ahead of them – to become homemakers. EB Boys can only work for another EB business, or start their own. The Australian economy is certainly benefiting from their contribution (albeit limited) to the GDP, but what of the Community? Should not generosity of this magnitude benefit the Australian people as a whole?
One wonders what the real reasons are behind a tally of now three failed attempts to get an inquiry started?
It cannot be their comparative contribution to the Australian GDP (AUS $980 billion in 2007 (See Note 1)) as this equates to just 0.2%.
Is it the fear of being seen as acting in a discriminatory fashion? How many suicides and broken families will it take before the Australian government recognizes that they are not only harboring but are actively supporting a tiny minority that have no interest in either the communities they live in or in contributing to the human family anywhere.
As the headline blazes, “Leave us alone”. This is exactly what they want.
The Exclusive Brethren leaders know what will be discovered once the inevitable inquiry begins.
For the sake of the children who are being carefully segregated from a wider society and wider choices, we trust that the Australian people will start doing some arithmetic of their own and start to demand answers.
From our perspective, we just want our families back.
We miss them.
Thank you Bob Brown and Chris Milne for trying again.
Peebs.Net Team
Note 1 – CIA Factbook
Note 2 – Bruce Hales – Living Our Beliefs
Note 3 – Exclusive Brethren Meeting Rooms