Whistleblower MP Who Unveiled 17,000 Hillsong Documents Says Govt. Body Overseeing Their Probation is ‘Toothless’ and ‘Pathetic’
Independent Federal MP Andrew Wilkie, who famously made public a trove of 17,000 financial documents related to Hillsong Church and detailed their wild financial mismanagement, is coming down hard against the regulatory body overseeing Hillsong College, calling their tepid and lenient response to the megachurch “pathetic” while calling for other authorities to intervene.
We previously reported that the ACNA (Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission), a national regulatory body that oversees large charities, put Hillsong College on court-enforced probation after finding they failed to meet multiple compliance standards regarding financial operation and record keeping.
Rather than a firm approach, however, Hillsong was handled with kid gloves, with the ACNA giving the college 18 months to shape up and implement basic policies like only using church credit cards for legitimate charitable purposes, rather than the obscene ways they were previously used.
The ACNA first started an investigation after public allegations arose over how Hillsong handled their finances when Wiklie revealed the darling of the evangelical world was spending money like drunken pirates. This included everything from spending $6156.07 for a single meal at the Nobu restaurant to $23,256 for a night stay at the Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel hotel to using private jets like their personal Ubers and more:
Top 10 Most Expensive Meals Brian and Bobbie Houston Expensed to the Church
Top 10 Luxury Hotels Hillsong Leaders Expensed to the Church (Spoiler: The Cheapest is $8457.42)
Report: Hillsong Foundation Raised $21M For Charities, But only Gave Them 1% of the Money,
Top 10 Weirdest Things Hillsong Leaders Expensed to the Church ( $1467.28 for a Single Uber Ride)
Despite Raising $21M for Charity, Hillsong Gave Their Anti-Female Genital Mutilation Org. Only $42
Hillsong Church Charges Child-Sponsor Group ‘Compassion’ $1,000,000 To Be At Their Events
Hillsong Leader Expenses $40,086.05 in ONE MONTH (One Meal Was $6156.64)
Hillsong Church Gives T.D. Jakes, Joyce Meyer $150K for One Sermon
What is ‘Hillsong Family’, and Why Do Some Churches Pay $100K a Year to Join It? Ft. Judah Smith
Hillsong’s Compassion Contract Details Revealed: What $1,000,000 Really Gets You
Hillsong Church Salaries, Royalties, Benefits Revealed. $1.9M, $ 1.7M, $1.5M, $876K, $540K
As reported by the Daily Telegraph, Wilkie, who has also accused the church of failing to report nearly $80M in income, lamented:
“The commission is effectively saying it will forget about the extraordinary alleged wrongdoing in Hillsong so long as the church promises to be good from now on. The ACNC’s inaction, and that is exactly what this response has the effect of demonstrating, just goes to show that in Australia (the church) can apparently spend a congregation’s donations like a Kardashian and the regulator is powerless to do anything to stop them.”
Describing the ACNA as a “toothless tiger,” Wilkie is asking other government agencies to get involved and not just give Hillsong a pass or slap on the wrist for their gross abuses.
“Where is the ATO? (Australian Taxation Office) Where is AUSTRAC? (Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre) Because serious allegations have been leveled against Hillsong, and damning material tabled in the Australian Parliament, and all of it apparently remains unscrutinized.”
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