An unholy grant row over school breakfasts

Hitting out at grant funding by council

Robin Bristow. Picture: Peter Gardiner

NOOSA activist Robin Bristow wants the council to cease funding a school chaplaincy free breakfast program after allocating almost $4000 to help provide support services.

Round one of the 2017-18 Noosa Shire Council community project grants approved $3961 towards driver training with the School Breakfast Support Group.

The council's grant report said the group is a division of Scripture Union Queensland which runs the local school chaplaincy program.

"Council should not be indirectly funding administered programs by the evangelical organisation Scripture Union Queens- land,” Mr Bristow said.

He said this was a "gross misuse” of ratepayers' money on a program that is religiously motivated.

Mr Bristow is concerned the breakfasts could be used to try and convert students and he supports calls for the use of trained secular counsellors.

"There must be many secular, agenda-free programs in Noosa which would benefit from this level of (council) funding,” he said.

Council community services director Alan 'Fox' Rogers said the beneficiaries of this grant are the local children who receive a free breakfast.

"The School Breakfast Support Program has been providing these breakfasts for a number of years. We think it's a good program,” Mr Rogers said.

"The School Breakfast Support Program approached council seeking to vary their grant to assist with the purchase of a refrigerated ute, which could be driven by people with a normal driving licence.”

Mr Rogers said this was approved.

"Council's grant has not contributed to the hiring of school chaplains by Scripture Union Queensland, and our grants policy specifically excludes council from funding religious organisations where the application is for a project that relates specifically to that organisation's core business.”