An Australian aid watchdog is preparing to appeal against a Supreme Court decision upholding the loss of its status as a charitable organisation.
A spokesperson for Aid Watch, which has monitored aid spending in the Pacific for the past 13 years, says it was stripped of its charity status three years ago by the federal court because it's activities were viewed as in breach of what defines a charity.
Dr James Goodman says one of the mandates of a charity is to alleviate poverty and Aid Watch does this by focusing attention on the government's aid expenditure.
He says under Australia's 400 year old charity laws the courts have ruled this to be a political activity, highlighting the need for more modern legislation.
"It's a very important decision because obviously it has implications for many other organisations who have a clear objective, say for promoting environmental sustainability as against for instance economic growth and so therefore they obviously have a political purpose in the sense that they're promoting a particular agenda in relation to government policy."
Dr James Goodman says Aid Watch is meeting with its lawyers on Monday to discuss an appeal.
