THE disaster fund administering the remaining money raised by the lord mayor's earthquake appeal has been referred for investigation by the federal government.
Charities minister Zed Seselja told the Newcastle Herald late yesterday that he had agreed to a request by Newcastle MP Sharon Claydon, who had raised the disaster fund in federal parliament on Thursday.
Ms Claydon told the House of Representatives that she had serious concerns about the way the Newcastle Region Natural Disaster Relief Fund was operating since meeting in January with quake survivor Jennifer Matthews, whose doctors say her 30 years of ill health are a direct result of the serious injuries she suffered as a 20-year-old in the collapse of the Newcastle Workers Club.
The fund had refused a request by Ms Matthews for a meeting and wrote to her on January 30 saying it could not assist her.
Responding to Ms Claydon's call, Senator Seselja, Assistant Minister for Finance, Charities and Electoral Matters, said yesterday: "I was very concerned to hear of these circumstances.
"Charitable organisations have a legal and moral responsibility to look after those in need and especially help those who the funds were raised to assist.
"I have referred the matter to the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission."
The fund has reported having more than $1 million in assets, including $860,000 in cash. In January, it refused an application from City of Newcastle chief executive Jeremy Bath to help fund repairs to the storm-damaged Shepherd's Hill cottage in King Edward Park.
The fund's situation was brought to light on December 27 in one of a series of Herald articles to mark the 1989 earthquake's 30th anniversary.
A firm of architects alerted to the fund's existence wrote recently to inquire whether money might be available for repairs to a suburban Newcastle church that suffered serious damage in the 1989 earthquake.
"The fund does not have a specific process for receiving applications.
As the earthquake occurred over 30 years ago, it is not likely to accept any new applications received," fund chairman Michael Johns told the inquiring firm.
The other directors are former Newcastle city council town clerk Barrie Lewis and retired Lake Macquarie public servant Margaret Murray.
Speaking before confirmation of the investigation - which he and Ms Claydon both subsequently applauded - Mr Bath criticised the operation of the fund.
"For the chair to suggest that after all these years there is still no process for considering applications is inexcusable," Mr Bath said.
"What was once a meaningful example of public support for the victims of the Newcastle earthquake is today a secretive group of three people who refuse to make themselves known to the public.
"Worse still, the directors refuse to even consider supporting the victims of the earthquake who have been waiting 30 years for help.
"This extraordinary debacle demands intervention from the charities commission.
"I can't help but wonder what the trust's true intentions are for the remaining million dollars given they are refusing to consider applications for its dispersal."
The disaster fund replaced the original earthquake appeal in 1994 and according to a breakdown provided by the board has donated more than $4.6 million since then, including $3 million to the Newcastle Permanent Building Society's "regional relief fund" set up after the Pasha Bulker storm in 2007 and another $150,000 the same year to the Perm's charitable foundation.
But with virtually no public presence apart from its listing on the charities commission website, the fund has been criticised for its lack of visibility.
Mr Bath said he had also written to the charities commission calling for an investigation.
Ms Claydon told parliament that the fund money should be used for the purposes it was donated for.
"I can also see that there is a strong imperative for the trustees of this donated money to actively seek out potential beneficiaries across our community before closing the fund down," Ms Claydon said.
"I am particularly disappointed that the remaining funds seem to have been inaccessible to survivors since the disaster relief fund was formed in 1994."
Ms Claydon said any investigation should look at the history of both funds and whether they complied with the law and their own constitutions.
"I have asked the minister to advise whether there are any avenues for individuals to challenge the fund's closure or the manner in which the funds are disbursed," Ms Claydon said.
The Herald asked Mr Johns and Mr Lewis for comment but they had not responded by deadline.
The full text of Ms Claydon's references to the earthquake fund in parliament on Thursday.
"The Newcastle earthquake in 1989 stands as one of the darkest days in history for my community of Newcastle.
It left property destroyed and lives shattered.
At the time, the community banded together to help others by contributing to what was then called the Newcastle Lord Mayor's Earthquake Appeal Fund to pay for injuries and property damage caused by the earthquake.
Recently, there have been some reports that the directors of this fund, which has now been rebadged as the Newcastle Region Natural Disaster Relief Fund, now plan to shut it down and transfer the remaining money to another charity.
The news of the fund's planned closure has dismayed one person in my electorate who still lives with the scars from that terrible day.
That person is Jennifer Matthews. Recently, I met with Jennifer and her family.
They described to me their confusion and anger at learning that $1 million of the fund had gone unspent despite there being no way for anyone who was hurt in the earthquake, or in any other natural disaster since then, to apply for that money since 1994.
Ms Matthews was at pains to tell me that she wasn't just speaking out for herself and her family but wanted to see justice for other survivors in our community who may still be suffering from the impacts of the earthquake.
I have sympathy with the argument that the fund should not be wound up while survivors like Ms Matthews still suffer from damage inflicted on that day.
People donated in good faith to a fund for a very specific purpose.
Surely, that purpose is what it should be used for.
I can also see that there is a strong imperative for the trustees of this donated money to actively seek out potential beneficiaries across our community before closing the fund down.
I am particularly disappointed that the remaining funds seem to have been inaccessible to survivors since the disaster relief fund was formed in 1994.
I would hate to think that some Novocastrians may have died without getting the support they might have been entitled to access.
Accordingly, I have written to the minister who has responsibility for charities-a senator from the other place. I have requested that the minister investigate the history of the actions of these funds and report back on whether they have complied with both the law and their own constitutions.
I have asked the minister to advise whether there are any avenues for individuals to challenge the fund's closure or the manner in which the funds are disbursed.
Today I call on the minister to fast-track this process and launch a formal investigation into the Newcastle Lord Mayor's Earthquake Appeal Fund and the Newcastle Region Natural Disaster Relief Fund so that people like Jennifer and her family are not kept waiting any longer."
