Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Adelaide Charitable Trust (Membership of Trust) Amendment Bill

Second Reading

Adjourned debate on second reading.

(Continued from 12 November 2014.)

The Hon. A.L. McLACHLAN (16:06): I rise to speak to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Adelaide Charitable Trust (Membership of Trust) Amendment Bill. The bill seeks to amend the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Adelaide Charitable Trust Act 1981. The provisions under the 1981 act created the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Adelaide Charitable Trust as a corporation to take over and administer certain existing trusts and charitable undertakings within the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Adelaide.

I note the trust property vested in the trust includes charitable undertakings, purposes or trusts vested in the Catholic Church Endowment Society Incorporated, the Goodwood Orphanage, Largs Bay Orphanage, St John's Boys Home, and property held in trust for those institutions. It is interesting to note from the proceedings of the select committee on the original bill in 1981 that one of the main drivers for the legislation was to remove any uncertainty regarding bequests ensuring they went to the successor entities. Executors such as the Public Trustee and others were questioning the legal continuity between the incorporated trust (that was then in existence) and the homes in respect of the legacies given to those homes.

The act provides for the certain appointment of trustees to administer the trust. It is apparent that some of these entities, or ministries, have become obsolete. For example, the Sisters of Mercy of Adelaide have restructured and merged into a new entity now known as the Institute of Sisters of Mercy in Australia and Papua New Guinea. However, the archdiocese still wants the original bodies to continue to participate through its leader, ex officio, as trustee of the trust in order to keep faith with the ministries and those who have supported the original ministries in the past. We also understand that another ministry, and the entity that supports it, is also considering a similar restructure.

The bill originates from a request from the archdiocese to accommodate such restructures into the future. It is important to note that part of the request was that the act be amended to accommodate any future restructures of any of the trustee entities subject to the Archbishop certifying in writing that the restructured entity is effective successor to the former entity without the need for further amendments to the act.

The Liberal opposition is satisfied that this is an effective mechanism to accommodate further restructures. We are mindful that the established churches are facing declining membership and, at the same time, the need for their charity increases. Not even the Catholic Church is immune from the pressures of becoming more efficient and making every possible endeavour to ensure that their charitable work is continued. In this regard, we support the bill and the second reading.

I note the concerns which were raised by the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, the member for Bragg, in the other place, who asked whether the proposed amendments were seeking to aid and abet the isolation of assets from potential civil liability claims against the Catholic Church. In its report tabled on 11 November 2014, a select committee noted these concerns but found that this was not the case.

The Hon. Mark Parnell has filed amendments which we have received today in relation to this bill, and I note in my quick reading of these that they relate to obtaining access to certain classes of individuals for compensation in relation to these trust assets. The Liberal opposition has not had an opportunity to consider these amendments and will do so in subsequent days, so we reserve our position in relation to those amendments. That said, I commend the bill in its current form to the chamber.

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD (16:10): Today we have a bill before us that amends the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Adelaide Charitable Trust Act 1981 which was drafted at the request of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese. At the outset I would like to take this time to commend the Catholic Church as a whole, of which I understand the Roman Catholic Archdiocese is an integral part, for the wonderful work it does in the community.

Without the support of this organisation community care organisations such as Centacare, Hutt Street Care, Aboriginal Catholic Ministry, Catherine House, Mary MacKillop Care, the Catholic Deaf Association, St Patrick's Special School and Our Lady of La Vang School would not function as they do now. These programs provide services for the community in the areas of homelessness, counselling, prison visits, case management, employment programs and disability, to name a few. The provision of these services is highly commendable and greatly needed in our community.

Turning to the bill specifically before us, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese Trust is a corporation which administers certain existing trusts and charitable undertakings within the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Adelaide. Not surprisingly, given the age of the current act, this current bill presents us with some legislative changes to update the act and bring it into line with the current operating requirements of the trust.

The changes include expanding the current four trustees who can administer the trust to seven trustees. Additionally, the definition of the Sisters of Mercy has been widened to incorporate the newly created structure within the organisation. The archdiocese has anticipated that a similar situation may occur in the future and has requested that the act be amended so as to accommodate any future restrictions of any of the trustee entities. Accordingly, section 4A allows for the Archbishop to declare and provide certified documentation of a successor ministry without the need to come before parliament and make legislative changes.

Family First endorses this approach as a sensible one. It has been reported in the other place that the select committee, tasked with examining this bill, conducted thorough yet relatively uneventful examinations into the merits of this bill. They reported unanimous support for the bill in its current form. Accordingly, Family First supports the passage of this bill.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. J.M. Gazzola.