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Jehovah’s Witnesses facing tax turmoil The secretive Christian group has begun legal action against the charity watchdog after it quietly revoked the organisation’s tax-exempt status over concerns with its opaque global structure. https://www.theaustralian.com.au/subscribe/news/1/?offerset=ta_4for4_premium&sourceCode=TAWEB_WRE170_a_GGL&dest=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theaustralian.com.au%2Fnation%2Fjehovahs-witnesses-facing-tax-turmoil%2Fnews-story%2F64acd93d531eb6b7301dda758e7ee2ff&memtype=anonymous&mode=premium&adobe_mc_sdid=SDID%3D7EC7ED7628D12DA5-58A80C25FED2095D|MCORGID%3D5FE61C8B533204850A490D4D%40AdobeOrg|TS%3D1618785359&adobe_mc_ref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F I received this alert in my Google feed as well as the exjw who posted it. I am not getting a subscription to the Australian newspaper to verify the article. I'll leave that up to the readers here. I am sure it will come out in other news sites soon. As usual, the organization puts money ahead of the lives of individuals. This is the copied article supplied by the exjw: The Jehovah’s Witnesses have taken legal action against Australia’s charity watchdog after it ­revoked the organisation’s tax-­exempt status over concerns with the religion’s opaque global donations structure and alleged failure to protect vulnerable people. The organisation’s charitable arm, the Watchtower Bible and Tract ­Society of Australia, which posted an income of $32m in the year to August 31, has been ­accused of pushing cash offshore after directors splashed $16m of its total expenses on undisclosed­ ­donations and “overseas aid”. The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission informed Watchtower in November of its intention to revoke the ­organisation’s charity status, citing a litany of concerns about alleged contraventions of the Corporations Act and a failure to comply with a host of governance and conduct standards. Lawyer and abuse survivor Alec Spencer, a PhD candidate at James Cook University, said the ACNC’s decision was comparable to the abolition of the so-called “Ellis defence” in NSW in 2018, which ended the Catholic Church’s long-standing immunity to lawsuits. “If registration were to be removed, it would serve as a wake-up call for many other religious charities who have systemically failed to protect sexually abused children,” he said. “The removal of charitable registration would be an extraordinary outcome, both for the commission and the religious charity sector in particular.” The charity, which is seeking judicial review of the ACNC’s ­decision in the Federal Court, has been accused of “operating outside of Australia” and breaching its requirement to protect vulnerable people, including children, when conducting operations overseas. In a statement, Watchtower ­director Terry O’Brien denied the ACNC had moved to strip the ­organisation of its charity registration. “The ACNC has assured the ­directors that they do not intend to revoke Watchtower Australia’s charity status,” Mr O’Brien said. However, court documents filed last week reveal the ACNC sent a notice to revoke Watchtower’s charity registration to the group’s directors in November. The ACNC has accused Watchtower’s directors of failing to comply with key conduct standards, including a requirement to disclose conflicts of interest and a requirement to protect children who are accessing benefits under the charity’s programs. If the court upholds the ACNC’s decision, Watchtower will lose its status as a registered charity and will not be entitled to receive tax concessions, including lucrative tax breaks. According to an application for judicial review filed by Watch­tower, the ACNC’s decision is ­“unlawful” and an “unreasonable and inappropriate exercise” of its discretion. The organisation, which has nearly 70,000 members in Australia, has allocated almost $120m from 2014-20 to “donations and overseas aid”. “As a donor, I would be very troubled by this,” Mr Spencer said. “And as a regulator, their hands are tied due to the differential treatment bestowed on basic ­religious charities. “The ACNC could deregister a charity but the decision and why that occurs is not disclosed,” he said. “It allows them to operate in a cloud of secrecy.” Watchtower argues that the decision contains multiple errors of law, including that the legislation confers “no function with respect to child protection” on the ACNC. The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse warned that there were systemic problems within the ­Jehovah’s Witness religion in dealing with abuse, including a failure to report credible alle­gations to the police. The commission heard Jehovah’s Witnesses had documen­tation of abuse allegations by 1800 children involving more than 1000 perpetrators since 1950. Former church member and child abuse survivor Lara Kaput said revocation of Watchtower’s charity status would be a “watershed moment” if it were upheld by the Federal Court. “They were reticent to revoke their charity status because the charity commission knew it would set a precedent, and they don’t want that to happen,” Ms Kaput said. An ACNC spokeswoman said it was unable to comment on the “particular circumstances of a charity” and whether or not a charity was being investigated.

The federal government has given institutions named and shamed in the royal commission into child sexual abuse an extra eight years to sign up to the national redress scheme. It is the second time the deadline has been extended, this time until 2028, a transcript of the parliamentary inquiry into the operation of the scheme shows. An independent review of the scheme is due to be finished by the end of February which should canvass issues that include further ways to ensure institutions join the scheme. Of the 158 institutions mentioned at the royal commission, three have not flagged their intention to join. A further 16 have said they are intending to join but have not yet signed up, and there are 11 institutions that have been assessed as “unable to meet the legislative requirements”. The Jehovah’s Witnesses is the only national organisation to declare they will not be joining. Jehovah’s Witnesses abuse survivor and advocate Lara Kaput said it felt like the government was “buying themselves time” while they decide how to handle institutions who have not signed up. “There is no clear government strategy to make the Jehovah’s Witness leaders accountable that has been shared with survivors,” she said. Full article: https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/national/2021/02/07/national-redress-child-abuse-extension/

The 73-year-old was found guilty in the NSW Supreme Court in July of 20 offences relating to six Sydney events between February 1980 and July 1985. They included the shooting murder of Justice David Opas and the bomb-related murders of Pearl Watson, wife of Justice Raymond Watson, and Graham Wykes, who died in an explosion at a Jehovah's Witnesses hall. Graham Wykes died and 13 people were seriously injured when a bomb ripped apart the Jehovah's Witnesses hall. Congregation members had offered support to Warwick's ex-wife. Full article: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8692961/Family-court-bomber-Leonard-Warwick-spend-life-prison-guilty-Sydney-murders.html

"A News Corp investigation into the global Christian sect Jehovah's Witnesses has revealed they have allegedly pushed cash offshore to avoid paying compensation to Australian child sex abuse victims." https://www.news.com.au/national/special-investigation-into-jehovahs-witnesses/video/a334969a3052132c8cab3c94ccc4925e

After much fanfare by opposition groups in hope of becoming a legal voice for victims of CSA in Australia? Governments are now reversing course to some Christians Church’s that were a target of overwhelming propaganda to its hierarchy. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/cardinal-pell-welcomes-courts-dismissal-of-abuse-conviction/ar-BB12eHEP?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=mailsignout What will the outcry be, next? Who will the opposition groups blame next?

Yes. Let's draw a huge amount of attention to that which we don't want you to pay attention to. And let's do it in the most creepy, culty, and weird way as possible, because we can't take criticism and we just don't know how to handle it. Like the old saying goes... If your beliefs can't stand up to scrutiny, then scrutiny isn't the problem. This barricade makes it crystal clear, loud and clear, that their beliefs can't stand up to scrutiny. Imagine doing this same thing to them at their cart witnessing and how they would feel? They would call us inspired by the devil, mentally diseased etc..... Video of this kind of behavior could be interesting to governments that offer tax breaks, etc.

August 2019 update Coorparoo Kingdom Hall Camp Hill For Sale $1,150,000 Coorparoo congregation now attending New Farm Kingdom Hall https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-qld-camp+hill-131673554?fbclid=IwAR0ZeUb1zGkCH2ldnSfcFrt207P9xI6ViBQQSQsI5dcd3zd2G8YY1C1A8mg Triabunna Kingdom Hall Tasmania For Sale $355,000 plus GST https://www.realcommercial.com.au/property-other-tas-triabunna-503308642?fbclid=IwAR2L5hSCAu7ER4mNNUScOaM9VGnqSWeRjLz-mv_7oEJzPx1vFZMs92xRi_Y

EXTRACT] Review of Current Records: After discussing this letter as a body of elders, we would like the secretary along with the coordinator, or another assigned elder, to review what is currently in the congregation’s confidential file. They should examine the contents of all sealed envelopes in the file to confirm that they contain only the documents mentioned in the Shepherd book, chapter 22, paragraphs 22-23. The assigned elders should adhere to the direction in paragraph 26 when determining if the entire contents of the envelope should be destroyed. If the elders are not sure if a particular document needs to be retained, they should feel free to contact the Service Department for assistance. Please ensure that all records kept in the file are in harmony with what is outlined in the Shepherd book, chapter 22, and our comments above. Additionally, we ask that each elder check his personal computer, or hard copy files, and even his meeting bag, to ensure that no confidential correspondence is retained outside the congregation’s confidential file. We would like the secretary to confirm with each elder that this has been done. https://jwleaks.org/2019/08/29/australia-newly-registered-jehovahs-witnesses-legal-entity-issues-elders-letter-to-destroy-records/

After enduring years of secrecy and betrayal, Shelly Rose Braieoux finally dug deep within herself and picked up the phone. Key points: Shelly Braieoux said Jehovah's Witnesses elders failed to face up to her abuse allegations She said she felt like God would strike her down when she cut ties with the church Her initial experiences with police and the legal system prompted her to study law Having grown up with parents who were strict Jehovah's Witnesses, she remembers being taught to fear outsiders. Making a report to the police, an elder told her, would "bring reproach" upon Jehovah's name. But she had something to say. Her father — a man who had forced her to carefully write out scriptures on a poster, and had forbidden her from wearing two bangles on her wrist — had inflicted violence and sexual abuse at home in the past. In the period after she cut ties with the church, Ms Braieoux said she felt like God was going to strike her down at any moment. But a voice on the other end of the line, that of Detective Senior Constable Natalie Bennett, offered her some genuine compassion. Read more: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-04-08/incest-victim-to-honours-law-graduate-shelly-triumph-over-abuse/10978530

Heavy rains have caused severe flooding in Northeast Australia. Floods have displaced thousands of residents and have caused serious damage to property and power outages. The Branch of Australasia reports that, as a result of the floods, 58 publishers of three congregations needed to move to family homes or other witnesses. A total of ten homes of our brothers were flooded, two of which were destroyed. The Branch has set up a disaster relief committee, and the circuit overseer and local elders are supporting the affected publishers. We pray that our brothers and sisters continue to endure and be comforted under the care of these loving pastors. - 1 Peter 5:2.

Since podcast is very long, the topic of CSA starts at 2:04 minute. Watchtower's refusal to join the Redress Scheme and the fact that they haven’t acknowledged or apologized to JehovahÂ’s Witness child sexual abuse victims | Mornings with Jon Faine | ABC Radio, Australia https://www.abc.net.au/radio/melbourne/programs/mornings/mornings/10372508 Â

The Jehovah's Witness Church in Australia failed to protect children in its care from sexual predators, a report has found. The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse delivered its report into the organisation on Monday. It stated that: "Children are not adequately protected from the risk of child sexual abuse in the Jehovah's Witness organisation and [the commission] does not believe the organisation responds adequately to allegations of child sexual abuse." Survivors of sexual abuse within the church and senior church members appeared before a public hearing last year. The inquiry heard the church received allegations of child sexual abuse involving more than 1000 of its members over a 60-year period but did not report a single claim to police. In its report on the inquiry, the royal commission found that the organisation's general practice of "not reporting serious instances of child sexual abuse to police or authorities, demonstrated a serious failure on its part to provide for the safety and protection of children." The royal commission determined that the church's response to allegations of child sexual abuse were outdated, including a rule that there must be two witnesses to an incident, which "showed a serious lack of understanding of the nature of child sexual abuse". "It noted the rule, which the Jehovah's Witness organisation relies on, and applies inflexibly even in the context of child sexual abuse, was devised more than 2000 years ago," the report found. Royal commission chairman Justice Peter McClellan. Photo: Jeremy Piper The Jehovah's Witnesses approach to handling claims internally was not appropriate for children or survivors of sexual abuse, the report found. "Survivors are offered little or no choice in how their complaint is addressed, sanctions are weak with little regard to the risk of the perpetrator re-offending." The head of the Jehovah's Witness community's service desk, Rodney Spinks, is considering the report and is expected respond on Monday afternoon. http://aunews24.com/25951/Jehovahs-Witnesses-demonstrated-a-serious-failure-to-protect-children-Royal-Commission

The photo dates from 1957, the horse and buggy from an earlier era. The Kingdom Hall Store was located in Burt St, Boulder, Australia Via