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permaculture - Re: [permaculture] Mollisons Trust A & Trust B

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  • From: Robyn Francis <erda@nor.com.au>
  • To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [permaculture] Mollisons Trust A & Trust B
  • Date: Fri, 21 Dec 2007 08:22:35 +1100

One of the key protective strategies behind Mollison's 2 trust systems
(designed for him by a commercial banker) is that the charitable trust
(Permaulture Institute) owns all property and assets, whereas the Mc
Alistair Trading Trust undertakes the commercial activities (Tagari
Publications, Pc courss & consulting t)which could be vulnerable to attack,
litigation, bankruptcy etc, thus ensuring that if anything does go under,
the land can't be threatened.

In the early '80's only a few years after setting up the trust system, one
of the trading enterprises under the Mc Alistair Trading Trust, Self
Reliance Seeds (Australia's first non-hybrid seed specialist), came under
attack from a US-based seed company under international copyright law during
the spate of large corporations taking over independent seed companies when
Plant Patenting came into being. Self Reliance seeds was wound up without
threatening the Tagari property and assets.
BTW A new seed company was soon formed independent of the trust structure
called Phoenix Seeds (symbolising the new rising from the ashes of the old).

The moral of the story is to separate ownership of land from
enterprise-based activities.

The shifting of profits from one entity to another is not so simple under
Australian trust law, Oz trust law is complex and constantly changing.

Ciao
Robyn






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