ANOTHER attempt to rescind a Kingston Council grant awarded to the Druze Community Charity of Victoria has failed.
Last year Kingston councillors assessed the possibility of cancelling the three-year grant, but ultimately voted to retain funding for the community group on the condition that “events funding in years 2 and 3 must be held in Kingston and that additional support be provided to groups should they require assistance to find suitable Kingston venues”. The Druze Community Charity of Victoria is based in Keysborough inside the neighboring Greater Dandenong municipality – it was deemed eligible for the Kingston grant because more than half of its members reside in the Kingston local government area.
The grant, awarded under the previous council, has come under scrutiny as Cr Hadi Saab sits on the committee of the Druze group. He declared a conflict of interest and recused himself before the vote took place during the previous council term, and recused himself again last week when the matter returned to the council chamber.
After the 2024 local government elections, the new council referred the awarding of the grant to the Local Government Inspectorate for investigation. The LGI ultimately did not take action (“No watchdog action on grant” The News 29/10/2025).
At the most recent Kingston Council meeting, Cr Caroline White launched a last-ditch effort to rescind the funding. Her proposal to “resolve to stop any further grants funding to the Druze Organisation in the Greater Dandenong Council LGA” did not receive support from any other councillor.
Council officers urged councillors to maintain the funding agreement. They wrote “while technically allowable under Kingston’s Governance Rules Meeting Procedure to allow this Notice of Motion to be listed within the agenda for consideration, it is the opinion of officers that exclusion of a single organisation from the Kingston Grants Program, or ceasing a current funding agreement would pose legal and reputational risks to council.”
“The application from the Druze Community Charity of Victoria was made in accordance with all applicable polices and standards, as was any council decision in reference to their successful funding application,” council officers wrote.
First published in the Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone News – 11 February 2026