Australian Christian Lobby hits pause on Folau fundraiser at $2.2m

The ACL pauses its Folau funding site at the $2.2m mark but leaves open the possibility of reopening it.

Israel Folau

The campaign to raise funds for sacked rugby player Israel Folau’s legal battle with Rugby Australia has been “paused” after donations reached $2.2 million this morning.

The Australian Christian Lobby, which set up the fundraiser on its website on Tuesday, said the rush of donations to their site had been so overwhelming a decision was made last night to “hit the pause button” on the fundraising and only reactivate the the site “if or when we need it”.

“Your overwhelming support means that Israel Folau has raised enough money for now,” the ACL said in a statement on its website.

“ACL, Izzy and everyone involved is humbled and grateful. We are hitting the pause button. But if the case drags on and Israel needs more support, we will reopen this campaign.”

The ACL said the fundraiser not only showed there was support for Folau but a “great movement of quiet Australians have found their voice”.

“This cannot be ignored,” it said.

Folau’s original goal was to raise $3 million for his unfair dismissal case in which he plans to challenge Rugby Australia, citing discrimination on religious grounds.

He is seeking $10 million in damages from RA and wants his multimillion-dollar contract reinstated after his contract was terminated over his social media post warning sinners, including homosexuals, would “go to hell”.

The ACL was dogged yesterday by speculation that the Folau fundraising site was being invest­ig­ated by national charity­ watchdog the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission for a possible breach of standards.

Mr Iles said he was unaware of any investigation. But he did clarify a comment he made on the Seven Network’s Sunrise program yesterday that any excess funds could be used for similar legal quests.

“All money raised will only be used for costs associated with ­Israel’s defence. The money will never go to Israel personally and it will not be used by the ACL for other purposes,” he said.

Since taking over the Folau fundraising site, Mr Iles said ACL staffers had been the target of relentles­s abuse, including “countless vile phone calls” to head office and a bomb threat.

The focus of the Folau saga shifted yesterday to the former Wallaby’s wife, Maria Folau, a star shooter with the Adelaide Thunder­birds, after she was censured­ by two key women’s netball sponsors, ANZ and health insurance company HCF. The sponsors reportedly told Netball Australia they were unhappy with her decision on Friday to re-post a link to her husband’s now defunct GoFundMe page.

HCF told Netball Australia there was an urgent need for “a strong, clear and well-enforced social media policy and education among its players and staff”.

“We appreciate the complex­ities of the Folau matter and acknowledge that views do differ in the community, however, we do not support Maria Folau’s stance on this matter,” an HCF spokesman said. “There is no place in our society for discrimination of any kind, including on the basis of gender, religious belief, age, race or sexual orientation.”

Jeremy Sammut, a senior researc­h fellow with the Centre for Independent Studies, said the “corporate shaming” by big business­ over the Folau furore had “really crossed the line” as companies took on the role of “moral arbiter of socially acceptable thinking”.

He said the extraordinary com­munity backlash caused by GoFundMe’s decision to take down Folau’s funding appeal page demonstrated what a “tin ear” big business had when it came to the feelings of ordinary Australians.

“It looks like the community thinks the big end of town has ­decided to mob up, endlessly posturing­ about their right-on politics,” he said.