Here we go again - Friends of the Earth Australia

31.8.17

Here we go again - Friends of the Earth Australia: The political genesis of the campaign rests with the far Right Institute of Public Affairs (IPA). The IPA is a ‘deductible gift recipient’ (DGR) listed ‘think tank’, which has been crafting much of the campaign to try and take the DGR status off environmental organisations. Unlike green groups, the IPA is lacking in transparency when it comes to providing details on their income sources. While historically they have been funded by entities like pesticides and mining companies and the tobacco industry it is not clear exactly who is their main funding source at present.

Back in 2001 the IPA launched a specialist newsletter, NGO Watch, to ‘investigate’ human rights, development and environmental organisations.

The IPA has also campaigned for environmental groups to lose any financial support they may get from government for many years. For instance, an IPA report released in 2011 called for governments to stop funding environmental organisations.