Casey Council donates tens of thousands of dollars to churches for community grants
Casey Council has splashed tens of thousands of dollars in grants to churches in the past financial year, with ratepayer groups calling the spend “irresponsible”. But councillors say churches are more “far-reaching” than any other group.
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Casey Council splashed $54,414 in grants to 15 Christian churches in the past financial year.
The spend has been slammed as “irresponsible” by Ratepayers Victoria who say church donations shouldn’t come from public funds.
Meanwhile Narre Warren North mosque secretary Mohammed Janif claims his group — the Islamic Education and Welfare Association of Dandenong — has been overlooked for grants for almost 25 years.
Among the grants distributed was $11,455 to Casey City Church, $8000 to Hampton Park Uniting Church and $4000 to Narre Warren Christian Church.
In the past year, Aspire Church in Hampton Park has received $8000 for event funding and
Casey City Church was awarded an extra $1000 for a Quick Response Grant.
The Leader can also reveal St Mina & St Marina Coptic Orthodox Church, which under-fire councillor Sam Aziz attends, also received a grant of $5000.
“Local councils shouldn’t be donating money to religious organisations. If a person wants to donate to a church then that’s acceptable but it shouldn’t come from ratepayer dollars,” Ratepayers Victoria president Dean Hurlston said.
Casey Residents and Ratepayers Association spokesman Brendan Browne said the council had an obligation to ensure that resources were managed in a responsible and accountable manner.
“If undue favouritism seems to have taken place when allocating ratepayers’ money to churches or other organisations then this needs to be investigated, especially when the amounts of money involved are significant,” Mr Browne said.
Former Casey councillor Steve Beardon said churches were seen as “guaranteed photo opportunities” and vote catchers by politicians.
“Being linked to a church also gives the perception of honesty as well,” Mr Beardon said.
Cr Rosalie Crestani, a devout Christian, said Casey had more Christian churches than other parts of Melbourne, which meant more hubs for “caring and sharing”.
“Supporting and donating to churches makes sense: they just give more bang for any buck as they networks are so far-reaching and I can say from decades of experience, they are more far-reaching than any other group or non-faith organisation I have seen,” Cr Crestani said.
But Mr Janif said his mosque had “tirelessly” tried for grants since 1996, and never received one.
“We have an important role in the community and grants could help so much. We don’t hear about how to apply for them nor have our local councillors visited us once,” he said.
Casey Council told the Leader it had no record of any grant applications from the mosque.
PGCC Islamic Centre (Doveton mosque) spokesman Rokhan Akbar said the council should provide more awareness about applying for community grants.
“We could use the money on renovations including updating facilities and community based projects,” Mr Akbar said.
Casey Council Active Communities manager Callum Pattie said the council provided ongoing, annual and multi-year funding to support the community to respond to community needs.
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“We operate a transparent, equitable process with councillors supporting the allocation of the grant funding program in line with the grants policy, following recommendations from the independent community grants panel,” Mr Pattie said.
“Guidelines for grant programs state that we cannot accept applications related to programs or events that only advocate faith or religion, as all applications must demonstrate broader benefits to participants and/or the wider community.”