[Re. Couple who feels scammed v. Carly Crutchfield, Scientologist]

* Scientologists warned over "detox" therapy * Cure-all can kill people with kidney problems * Church on recruitment drive in indigenous towns THE Church of Scientology is targeting alcohol-dependent Aborigines with a "drug bomb" therapy which the church has been warned could kill people with kidney problems. The Scientologists this week responded to a warning by the Northern Territory Health Department and stopped distributing literature which promotes a dangerous drug detoxification therapy. The group has been moving through remote Australia on ...

HERE'S the thing. depending on your outlook, Kate and Emmanuel Foundas are either two of the nuttiest and potentially most sinister people you will ever meet, or a charming, successful, savvy couple with a social conscience. In Australia today very few, however, would allow them to be both once they learnt their religion. Yes, you guessed it, they are Scientologists. And not just dabblers. These guys are hard-core. Kate, 55, gave up an international career as a dressage rider and trainer ...

PASADENA, Calif. — The opening of a Scientology center in this city’s Old Town neighborhood was a significant local event. Church members spent $10 million to buy a historic four-story building and $6 million more to restore it to its 1906 luster before a gala dedication ceremony on July 18. But the Pasadena project is just one part of a much larger undertaking for the church: the creation of about 50 new centers in 16 countries. The global real estate firm ...

The Independent Complaints Review Panel (ICRP) has not upheld a series of complaints made against a Four Corners program, broadcast on 8 March 2010, titled “Scientology: The Ex-Files”. The program investigated aspects of the activities of the Church of Scientology, following the call for a government inquiry into the Church by Senator Nick Xenophon in 2009. The complaint about the Four Corners program included three elements: the way in which the Rehabilitation Project Force (RPF) was described; disclosure of information ...

Concerns have been raised about a partnership between the Federal Government and a drug awareness group run by members of the controversial Church of Scientology. Corporate lawyer and researcher Grainne O'Donovan said the partnership could potentially be used by the church, through Drug Free Ambassadors Australia (DFAA), to try to recruit members from schools and youth groups. The DFAA-sponsored by Scientology - is a partner in the government's National Compact set up by former Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd in March within ...

A federal parliamentary committee has recommended the creation of a charities commission. The commission would ensure charitable and religious organisations were open and transparent. They would also need to be able to prove they deserved a charitable status. Independent Senator Nick Xenophon has welcomed bipartisan support for the commission, saying organisations such as the Church of Scientology are on notice. "I believe reform is now inevitable. We can't continue to have business as usual when it comes to organisations that have ...

AUSTRALIAN of the Year Prof Patrick McGorry is among a number of top psychiatrists who have been targeted by the Church of Scientology after they spoke out against the religion. The University of Melbourne professor, with Monash University's Prof Louise Newman and Prof Ian Hickie, director of the Brain and Mind Research Institute at the University of Sydney, publicly backed calls by South Australian Senator Nick Xenophon in March for a senate inquiry into Scientology. They have since received requests under ...

RECEIVERS for the failed Letten Group have recovered $13.31 million from the sale of an historic Flinders Lane office and retail building. Savills agents Clinton Baxter and Nick Peden sold 167-173 Flinders Lane at auction yesterday, in front of a crowd of about 250 people. The property, on the southwest corner of Hosier Lane, was previously controlled by Mark Letten and celebrity health expert Dr John Tickell, who paid $3.67 million for the asset in September 2001. A permit to build ...

NOT far from where I live stand two semi-completed townhouses, their derelict state an invitation to the bulldozer and a reminder of somebody's inability to service a dream. St John's Cathedral stood incomplete for nearly a century and, while far from derelict, it too was a dream of religious grandiosity beyond the capacity of its parishioners. Unlike my near-neighbours, the Anglican Church was able to rally supporters to fulfil its dream. Among them was the Federal Government, which kicked in a ...

Believe it or not, Senate Inquiries can generate all sorts of humorous exchanges. A hearing earlier this week into the Tax Laws Amendment (Public Benefit Test) Bill generated so much laughter at one point, you could be forgiven for thinking you were watching ‘Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure’ instead. It went something like this. When discussing the impact of the introduction of a Charities Commission in New Zealand, the Church of Scientology’s New Zealand Secretary, Michael Ferriss, explained that the organisation’s ...

An investigation is underway to determine whether controversial religious sect, The Church of Scientology, should be taxed on its proceeds. We look at the pros and cons.

FORMER members of the Church of Scientology have told a Senate committee of the "ruthlessness" of the church and its judicial system, and argued it should not be eligible for tax-free status. "Australian taxpayers should not be funding systematic, organised abuse," said Janette Vonthehoff, who claimed her passport was taken from her and she was forcibly prevented from returning to Australia from the United States when she was eight weeks pregnant, because the church ordered she must finish "training". Sydney tax ...

A parliamentary inquiry has heard claims the Church of Scientology leaves members to fund local charitable activities out of their own pockets, as it siphons donations to church officials overseas. The Senate committee was formed after Independent Senator Nick Xenophon raised concerns about Scientology, and proposed changes to tax law that would require religions to pass a public benefit test in order to be exempt from income tax. The Church of Scientology says the bill is being used as a platform ...

The Church of Scientology has compared itself to The Salvation Army, while defending its benefit to the community in a Senate inquiry. The organisation was scrutinised by an inquiry into legislation proposed by independent senator Nick Xenophon, which would require religious groups to prove what public benefit they provide, before getting tax breaks. Its representative, Virginia Stewart, told the committee its members lent a hand in times of disaster and promoted drug-free messages. "The church believes the proposed bill is inherently ...

THE Church of Scientology says allegations it is using Adelaide as an off-shore base for its international operations to avoid paying tax are "offensive". An investigation by Channel 7's Today Tonight reporter Bryan Seymour alleged to have uncovered a ploy used by Scientology to dodge tax obligations in the United Kingdom and eight European countries. Mr Seymour said he had details of how the Church of Scientology Religious Education College Inc registered those operations in South Australia, to a Cowandilla address, ...

Introduction This document is aimed at local government bodies in the UK faced with requests from Church of Scientology entities for business rates reductions or who are making a reapplication for the same. The author of this document is an ex-Scientologist who was a member of the Church of Scientology for five years and so is aware of the practices and beliefs of the Church of Scientology as well as their pricing structure. The author has no legal qualifications. Reference will ...

It's alleged Scientology has avoided paying tax in the United Kingdom by claiming it is run out of South Australia. In Britain, the Church of Scientology is supposed to pay tax on the millions of pounds it brings in each year. Now, the organisation has been accused of claiming its entire UK operation is part of its Australian outfit. Here, Scientology is recognised as a religion and does not pay tax. It's alleged the church is using this, combined with some ...

THE Uniting Church is continuing to offload prime real estate. It can expect to make about $6 million from the sale of a church, hall and car park (above) at 12-14 Spring Road, Malvern, near the Toorak and Armadale borders. The 3033-square-metre site, which is zoned residential 1 and has two street frontages, is expected to make way for a medium-density residential project, given the push to build up, instead of out, as per the government’s Melbourne @ 5 Million planning ...

The Fair Work Ombudsman is investigating the Church of Scientology over allegations it has grossly underpaid staff members. A number of former employees of the church have told ABC's Lateline they were only paid a few thousand dollars per year for full-time work and had to resort to welfare payments to survive. Janette Lang, who worked for the church for seven years, says the most she was paid in a year was $3,114 in 2001. She was second in charge of ...

The industrial inspectorate has confirmed it is investigating the employment practices of the Church of Scientology. Fair Work Ombudsman Nicholas Wilson told a Senate estimates hearing it had looked into the controversial religious group but declined to give details. It is understood opposition frontbencher Eric Abetz wrote to the ombudsman in March with the idea of an inquiry. The inspectorate has subsequently interviewed Scientology members along the east coast of Australia to establish whether they are being properly remunerated for their ...

[...] Scientologists move on THE Church of Scientology has finally offloaded the CBD headquarters it has occupied for 30 years. Property developer David Marriner, responsible for the redevelopment of Collins Street’s Regent Theatre, has bought the building, which has redevelopment potential despite being on a small site of about 346 square metres. The religious group, whose tax-free status has been the subject of two recent Senate inquiries, is believed to have made about $ 8.5 million from the sale of the ...

The Church of Scientology is vigorously denying accusations a senior figure in the organisation tried to cover up the sexual assault of an 11-year-old girl in Sydney. It says the allegations, aired on ABC1's Lateline program, are false and highly defamatory. A former Scientology member, Carmen Rainer, told Lateline she was coached by a senior figure in the church to lie to police about the abuse at the hands of her then stepfather, Robert Kerr. Her mother, Phoebe, was a member ...

A senior figure in the Church of Scientology has been accused of trying to cover up the sexual assault of an 11-year-old girl in Sydney. In an exclusive interview for ABC1's Lateline program, a former member of the Church of Scientology says she was coached by a senior figure in the church to lie to police about the abuse at the hands of her stepfather. Carmen Rainer's mother Phoebe was a member of the Church of Scientology and went to the ...