Resignation of Gary Johns from Australian charities regulator ends Liberals’ war on sector, Labor says

In the wake of the resignation of Gary Johns from the Australian charities regulator, Andrew Leigh has said the government will look for a replacement who can ‘work constructively to … strengthen the social fabric’. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

The government has welcomed the resignation of controversial charity regulator Gary Johns, saying the election has ended the Coalition’s “nine‑year war on charities”.

New assistant charities minister, Andrew Leigh, said late Friday that Johns would be resigning as the head of the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission, a role that gave him power over charity registrations, investigations, and compliance.