2017 ANNUAL REPORT
Still in early stages of development, the Foundation received a wonderful boost with the acceptance of Mr. Emrys Nekvapil to the position of Director, on 5 March 2017. Emrys is a barrister specialising in equity and public law, with a broad trial and appellate practice, particularly focussing upon public law, commercial law and torts. He is very interested in environmental conservation and supports the principles and objects of Daintree Rainforest Foundation Ltd.
Registration with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC)
In early April, the secretary was advised that the tax concessions that the ATO grants registered charities (income tax exemption, fringe benefit tax rebate and GST concession), require registration with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC). Thankfully, our honourable secretary supplied the requisite information, leading Daintree Rainforest Foundation Ltd (ABN 98 158 520 499) to being registered as a charity, with the effective date of registration being 27 April 2016. Charities are an essential part of the fabric of Australian society and the ACNC is committed to improving the regulatory framework for charities, reducing red tape and supporting a sustainable, innovative and independent not-for-profit sector.
Threatened Species Recovery Fund
Regrettably, our Daintree Rainforest cassowary danger-zone emergency reclamation application, under the Threatened Species Recovery Fund, was unsuccessful. A huge national interest in this open round, meant that many projects did not receive funding. In our feedback, we were informed that our application performed very poorly against criteria seeking leverage from local communities to protect Australia’s Threatened Species and poorly for cost effectiveness.
On behalf of the Foundation, I wish to humbly thank the generous contributors to the Daintree Rainforest Fund and I also want to thank the Patron, senior traditional owner of the land and directors, Mr. Ron Shoppee, Mr. Paul Chantrill, Mr. Cliff Wise, Mr. Emrys Nekvapil, Ms. Prue Hewett and Mrs. Angie Hewett for their enthusiasm, dedication and all the various contributions that have brought the Daintree Rainforest Foundation Ltd., successfully to its second Annual General Meeting.