The Commonwealth Bank has frozen several of the Bathurst Anglican diocese’s accounts as it moves to recover as much of the $36 million debt owed as possible.
The sale of the Orange Anglican Grammar School and the Macquarie Anglican Grammar School in Dubbo, finalised last Monday, “crystallised” the amount of debt hanging over the head of the troubled diocese, according to Bishop Ian Palmer, but has left it in a “very difficult place”.
“I am unable to see clearly what the diocese may look like in the future,” Bishop Palmer said in a letter read out to parishes across the diocese.
“[The debt] is large and we cannot repay the bank in full.”
Read it all and the diocesan website is there.
Might one of the readers in Oz enlighten us as to how this happened?
Terry+, I don’t know much but will give what I can:
1. I understand that three dioceses in western and south-western NSW have been in financial trouble for a while: Riverina, Bathurst and Canberra-Goulburn. They have been conferring together. I think merger has even been discussed, which would be extraordinary – there has been a Bishop of Bathurst for almost 150 years.
2. I have heard comments that the issue is one of “profitability not solvency”. I translate that to mean they have plenty of assets but little cash-flow.
3. Country NSW is generally experiencing a lot of financial pain, but I suspect the problem also is congregations shrinking. It may be just my Sydney background, but I see a connection with the very liberal teaching in many country dioceses. That inevitably leads to declining congregations.
4. Back in June, Dio Bathurst announced the sale of two of its three prestigious private schools (the ones at Orange and Dubbo) to the Sydney Anglican Schools Corporation. So they will now be run from Sydney Diocese. The one in Bathurst remains with Dio Bathurst.
Thanks for the background MichaelA. From reading around it looks like they have had a new bishop since February who put on hold some of the asset sales organised by his predecessor. The cathedral had to be rebuilt in the early 1970’s when the old one was about to fall down, and they spent a bit on the schools which may explain the origin of some of the diocesan debt. For the sale of the two schools to ‘crystallise’ the debt leading to seizure of funds in the bank accounts is extraordinary – one would have thought that the bank would have been involved all the way along and have consented prior to the completion to how those funds would be dealt with. Although diocesan assets appear to be at risk this does not seem to apply to the parishes, which makes the level of debt built up extraordinary. It looks like Bathurst diocese shares administrative facilities with Canberrra and Goulburn diocese and Riverina Diocese and came to some concord with the Roman Catholics a while back which included some sort of joint liturgical service. The cathedral uses descriptors like ‘open’ and ‘inclusive’ under its lady dean which may give some idea of what they are about.
Probably the only people who could act as a white knight to Bathurst are the Sydney Anglicans, but their finances are not what they were. It would be good to pray for them.