Government Funding For Charity Linked to Kevin Andrews

August 12, 2007

A MARRIAGE guidance body for which Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews is listed as an educator has received thousands of dollars in government funds for almost 10 years.

The minister was listed as an educator for Marriage Education Programme Inc up to July 23, when the list of contacts was removed from the organisation's website.

His wife, Margaret Andrews, is identified on the same list as the convenor of MEP and as an educator.

Mr Andrews answered only a handful of questions on the issue put to him by The Sun-Herald yesterday.

While he did not answer questions on whether the organisation had received government funding or if he had declared a conflict of interest between ministerial obligations and his role as an educator, he said he was a "volunteer in his spare time", had been for a number of years and did not get paid.

He also said his wife was an "honorary convenor" who did not get paid.

Mr Andrews's pecuniary interest register shows Mrs Andrews's main income is derived from her role as a "marriage educator" and other records show that she has represented MEP at international conventions.

MEP has received $228,701 in Federal Government funding from the Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs in the past nine years.

MEP, which is listed on the Australian Business Register as a charitable institution, charges couples $240 for one of two programs that it offers on sustaining a successful marriage.

The Catholic Society for Marriage Education (CSME), which recommends MEP as one of two Victorian services, has received $585,961 in government funding since 1999. CSME publishes Threshold, a quarterly magazine about marriage education, which is edited by Mrs Andrews.

The Democrats are investigating possible conflicts of interest arising from federal funding for marriage counselling organisations in which the Andrewses are involved.

Among a series of questions placed on the Senate notice paper last week, Democrats leader Lyn Allison asked Mr Andrews to explain the couple's involvement with the marriage counselling service.

Mr Andrews's role in MEP comes to light after last week's Sun-Herald story about his advisory role with US anti-abortion group Life Decisions International.

Michelle Singer
The Sun-Herald