Good deeds ... Tania Zaetta in a poster for a Peace For The Children charity concert.
FOR a minor celebrity, Tania Zaetta punches well above her weight when it comes to attracting publicity, even if it is of the unsavoury kind.
But long before this week's tawdry headlines following Zaetta's arrest outside a Surfers Paradise nightclub, she was using her celebrity for good, setting up a charity to help children around the world. Well, in theory at least.
Unwittingly those good deeds have left several benefactors wondering where their money has gone and sparked an official investigation into the charity's activities while some of those who have been promised support have yet to see anything materialise.
This week Queensland's Office of Fair Trading confirmed it was investigating the organisation, which still features Zaetta on its website days after it was revealed to be operating unlawfully without authority from the Australian Tax Office.
When PS called this week, its co-founder, self-styled self-help guru and failed resort developer Grant Hilton, denied anything untoward had transpired, promising that a full audit of the organisation's activities and expenditure would soon be made public.
However he declined to tell
PS where or how much of the money had been spent and refused to answer further questions. One of the charity's projects was the Elliott School for indigenous children in the Northern Territory, 300 kilometres north of Tennant Creek.
''For as little as $150 we can purchase art and craft supplies that will keep these creative young minds active. Or for $500 we can buy an array of play and sporting equipment to inspire our 'young stars' of the future.''
The charity also wanted to raise $3000 to build a vegetable garden at the school, located in one of the harshest desert climates in the country.
''Can you believe that the cost of a lettuce alone in Elliott is $10!'' the website says. ''Up until last year, they didn't even own a toothbrush … now they do!''
Er, not quite.
PS called Elliott's principal, Colin Baker, who said his school was ''well funded'' by both the federal and state governments.
''A young staff member from here addressed a Rotary club in Brisbane a year ago and she was approached afterwards by a lady saying she knew a group that might be interested in doing something for the school. We didn't ask for anything,'' an unimpressed Baker told PS.
''But they were only interested in having a photo opportunity with the kids. I told them we didn't need a vegetable garden. They said they would send trainers and get a photo of the kids wearing them but I never heard from them again.''
Gold Coast businessman Dave Suttor said he contributed about $8000 to the charity last December but was still waiting for a receipt.
''We are in a very difficult position now, especially as it appears the charity was unregistered. We did it in good faith that everything was legitimate,'' he told PS.
Neither Zaetta nor her manager returned calls to PS this week.
