A HEAVILY scrutinised grant awarded by Kingston Council to the Druze Community Charity of Victoria will not be paid out in full.
The previous Kingston Council awarded $75,000 over three years to the Druze Community Charity of Victoria to stage events. The grant was subsequently criticised, as the Druze Community Charity of Victoria is headquartered outside the Kingston municipality. Cr Hadi Saab, who declared a conflict of interest and left the room when the grant was awarded, was sitting on the committee of the Druze group at the time.
At their most recent meeting, Kingston councillors considered their 2026-27 Community Festival, Events & Creative Activities Grant funding allocations. A report prepared by council officers read that “one grant has been closed and therefore the remaining payments (2025/26 and 2026/27) will not be released.” It was revealed at the meeting that the Druze Community Charity of Victoria was the organisation affected.
The 2023/2024 allocation of $25,000 was paid out, the funding allocation read.
Cr Caroline White, who has previously led efforts to cancel the grant, said “considering the backlash that his grant received from our community, this moment should be something to be celebrated, and it’s not. Because in true Kingston Council style it’s another local issue of significance getting shoved under the rug.”
“Buried deep in this item is a contentious issue, one of national public interest, that’s garnered dossiers of media attention. Some might say it put Kingston on the map, unfortunately for all the wrong reasons. However you’d only know it was in there if you’d emailed council to inquire to confirm,” Cr White said. “This grant has to be the poster child for Labor’s arrogance during the height of the Andrews-Allan era.
“I’m really happy we are getting the money. $50,000 is a lot of money that can feed a lot of people that need food in our community.”
All present councillors with the exception of Cr White, who abstained, voted to note the funding allocation prepared by council officers. Cr Saab declared a conflict of interest and left the meeting prior to the debate and vote.
After the election of a new Kingston Council in 2024, multiple attempts to rescind the grant have failed (“Plan to cut grant fails” The News 22/2/2026). The grant process was also referred to the Local Government Inspectorate for investigation, although it ultimately did not take action (“No watchdog action on grant” The News 29/10/2025).
First published in the Chelsea Mordialloc News – 1 July 2026