Gay and lesbian support group Diversity ACT has called for a review of how it lost its funding last year, amid allegations of conflicts of interest and unfair treatment.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Liberals' Nicole Lawder has been trying to get to the bottom of the funding dispute, lodging a freedom of information request for documents relating to the decision to strip Diversity ACT of more than $500,000.
But she has been stymied in the request, with the directorate saying the request will cost her $10,725.
The dispute escalated in Question Time last week when Ms Lawder suggested a member of the Labor Party had gone to the house of a board member of Diversity ACT at 7.30am to pressure the group over the funding dispute.
Questioning Minister Yvette Berry, Ms Lawder asked: "Minister, are you aware of a board member of Diversity ACT receiving an unannounced visit to his home this morning at 7.30 regarding my FOI request?"
The Liberals' Brendan Smyth followed up with, "Minister, did a member of your staff and a Labor Party official visit the home of a board member of Diversity ACT this morning at 7.30 to discuss Ms Lawder's FOI?"
Ms Berry said none of her staff had visited the home of the Diversity ACT member, and she had no knowledge of anyone else visiting.
Asked whether a Labor member had made the visit, ACT Labor secretary Matt Byrne said he had been unable to find anyone who knew anything about it.
"First I've heard about it, no idea, that sounds completely bonkers to me," he said.
Diversity ACT, which supports gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex Canberrans, had a four-year funding deal with the government for $507,000 a year from 2013-14, plus $70,000 for a building. But the deal was scrapped last year, after Diversity's agreements broke down with Northside Community Services and Communities at Work.
Ms Berry's spokesman said the government had halted the funding based on advice from the LGBTIQ ministerial advisory council. In May this year, the remaining $330,000 had been "advertised through a tender process in which Diversity ACT was encouraged to participate but chose not to tender".
A consortium consisting of the Aids Action Council, Northside Community Services, A Gender Agenda and Sexual Health and Family Planning ACT, had been successful.
Diversity ACT has disputed the process, saying the LGBTIQ advisory council was conflicted, given it was made up of groups who were competing for the money.
The council's advice to the government in August 2014 said the funding should go to a position divided between the Aids Action Council and A Gender Agenda – both of which are on the advisory council.
The advice was highly critical of Diversity ACT, accusing it of a lack of professionalism, poor delivery of services and problems with reporting and accountability. "The council has not had the time, resources or appropriate delegation to investigate the veracity of these claims, but it seems clear that all stakeholders have perceived real and ongoing difficulties in building effective working relationships with Diversity," the advice said.
The criticism incensed Diversity ACT, whose president, Delia Quigley, said it amounted to hearsay and rumour, and was simply uncorroborated character assassination.
Ms Quigley said the undermining of the group "has been quite incredible".
Ms Quigley wrote to Mr Barr outlining the group's struggles to settle its funding in early December last year but said she was yet to receive a reply.
Diversity ACT treasurer Kerin O'Brien said there was fierce competition for LGBTIQ funding and he applauded Ms Lawder's attempts to get to the bottom of why the funding had been cut. "I think there's a lot going on behind closed doors that we don't know about," he said.
