SPCS

SOCIETY FOR PROMOTION OF COMMUNITY STANDARDS INC.

Lobbying Disclosure Bill “significantly limits core democratic expression” – says Attorney-General

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The Lobbying Disclosure Bill in the name of Green MP Holly Walker – a bill that would require lobbyists to face tougher scrutiny – breaks human rights laws on freedom of speech, according to the Government’s lawyer Attorney-General Christopher Finlayson. His Report concludes:

This Bill significantly limits core democratic expression. In going well beyond what would be required to regulate the activities of lobbyists, it risks creating a chilling effect for average New Zealanders who may fear criminal sanctions for merely communicating with a Member of Parliament on behalf of their business in relation to government policy.  This would be an unacceptable limit on a core element of freedom of expression.

On the question of whether any justification exists for the limitation of freedom of expression imposed by the proposed legislation, he states:

The limits on freedom of expression sought to be imposed by the Bill are greater than reasonably necessary to meet the objective.  This is because, primarily due to poor drafting, the Bill goes well beyond the activities of professional lobbyists to include a wide range of other activities.

The proposed law aims to bring transparency to MPs dealings with lobbyists, argues Ms Holly. The Attorney-General Chris Finlayson is required to report to Parliament if a bill appears inconsistent with human rights legislation. Ms Walker’s bill makes it a criminal offence for lobbyists to impart information to ministers, MPs and their staff without signing up to a register and a code of conduct. Such “lobbyists” under her bill would include businesses, charities, trade unions and interest groups etc. Her bill which is modelled on a Canadian version, also regulates how politicians receive that information.

Mr Finlayson concluded this limited the ability to express information “freely”.

References.

1. Report of Attorney-General under the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 on the Lobbying Disclosure Bill

Click to access DBHOH_PAP_23052_AttorneyGeneralReportoftheunderthe.pdf

2. Lobbying Disclosure Bill: Explanatory note. Green Party. Holly Walker MP

http://www.greens.org.nz/bills/lobbying-disclosure-bill

3. Green’s bill rips veil off lobbying. by Kate Chapman Stuff.co.nz April 10, 2012

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/6713985/Greens-bill-rips-veil-off-lobbying

4. Greens’ lobbyist bill gets MP’s seal of approval. By Adam Bennett & Claire Trevett. April 17, 2012

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10799429

 

Environmental Defence Society Inc. – a registered charity ‘enforcing’ the law

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The Environmental Defence Society Inc. [“EDS”] was registered as a charity with the Charities Commission on 18 May 2007 (Reg. No. CC10297).

Its Society’s Rules (amended on 6 May 2003) were first filed with the Charities Commission on 3 November 2011, and the “ojectives” were approved by the Charities Commission Registration Team as constituting  “charitable purposes” under the Charities Act 2005. The Rules are available on the Charities Commission website (www.charities.govt.nz)

Section 2 of the ESA Rules – The Objectives – include:

2. (a) “To exercise the Society’s rights under the Resource Management Act 1991 or under any other applicable laws currently in force in New Zealand including (but without limitation) the right to make submissions, lodge appeals (including appeals on a question of law), apply to become a heritage protection authority or apply for a water conservation order; give notice of its intention to appear and call evidence at proceedings, apply for judicial review, apply for declarations or enforcement orders, or exercise any rights or objection.”

The term “charitable purpose”, as it occurs in the Charities Act 2005, would appear to have  been interpreted in this case by the Charities Commission, as applicable to all the political-environmental advocacy activities engaged in by EDS ….

… including supporting enforcement agencies to uphold such [envoronmental] standards as set out in law and encourag[ing] constructive debate and discussion in this area.

S. 2(c) empowers the charity EDS to exercise rights under applicable law to lodge appeals at all levels of the NZ Judicial System (Law Court and Tribunals), act in the quasi-judicial role of an envornmental authority, and exercise rights or objections to decisions issued by government agencies.

It is somewhat puzzling that a charitable entity such as EDS which received $144,7123 in government grants in the financial ended 31 March 2011, excists to “exercise its rights” to take legal action over the actions or lack of action of government agencies and/or its officers, and engage in such litigation as a registered charity. However, the wisdom of the Charities Commission, to grant charity status to EDS, given the nature of its objective, is no doubt sound and well-grounded.

EDS arguably engages in a level of “political advocacy” when it seeks to have the law changed or upheld on environmental protection matters. Its officers, some of whom are “contracted consultants” working for EDS, would no dobt see themselves as engaged in the “charitable purpose” of “advocating for the New Zealand environment” when it came to involvement in costly litigation. EDS spent $59,058 in “litigation supprt” in the financial year ended 31 March 2010.

EDS funded six full-time and three part-time “contracted consultants” in 2010/11 at a cost of $364,731. Its total income of $555,191 included $144,736 obtained from government grants, and $114,500 from other grants and sponsorship. Its total expenditure was $583,180.

ASH anti-smoking “lobby group” and registered charity – attacks Tobacco Industry

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The anti-smoking lobby group ASH New Zealand Inc. (“ASH”), a registered charity with the Charities Commission, has vowed to bring the Tobacco Industry “out of the shadows”  by “holding them to account”.  ASH [“Action on Smoking and Health”] – will continue its “attack” on the industry’s appalling record of having been responsible for causing the deaths of about 5,000New Zealanders per year, and expose how some of the industry’s sales reps are “targetting” many young vulnerable Maori and Polynesian girls. It also intends to continue its vigorous campaign against NZ retailers who it accuses of deliberately “enticing” children and young persons into taking up smoking through their immoral retail advertising of the “dangerous, deadly and addictive” product – tobacco.

ASH lobby group spokesperson Mr Ben Youdan has revealed in an interview on TVNZ that in response to anti-smoking lobby groups’ “targetting” of the Tobacco Industry, the industry has  issued “threats” of “law suits” with more anticipated – to be expected he implied – from an industry that “won’t take it [their attacks] lying down”. Attacks on the industry by lobby groups – even if they are registered charities and receive extensive government funding, as does charity-lobby group ASH ($592,892 in 2010/11: see below), are not taken kindly by Tobacco industry barons whose livelihoods are seen to be under threat from the zealous lobbyists. [Read more…]

Registered charities & “political advocacy” – protests to highlight porn & sexual violence link

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“Demonstrators have marched down Queen Street [Auckland] in front of the controversial Boobs on Bikes parade in an effort to raise awareness of the links between pornography and violence against women and children,” reported The NZ Herald on 20 August 2008.

“Around 60 protesters carried a banner saying “Pornography fuels sexual violence against women and children” as well as signs bearing slogans such as “porn fuels rape“….”

The Society for Promotion of Community Standards Inc. (SPCS) which played no part in the protest, only learnt after the event, via the media, that two charities registered with the Charities Commission – The Auckland Women’s Centre Inc. and Stop Demand Foundation – had organised the demonstration against the Boobs on Bikes event. Both charities had applied for and received a permit from the Auckland City Council for their protest march. Both had been registered as charities with the approval of Mr Trevor Garrett and the Charities Commission Registration Team, on 30 June 2008, two months prior to taking to the streets to target the porn promotion parade and its organiser. A third charity Family First New Zealand (Reg. No. CC10094), registered as a charity on 21 March 2007, issued media releases attacking the porn promotion activities of the Boobs on Bikes Parade promoter. [Read more…]

Child Poverty Action Group Inc and its political advocacy

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The Child Poverty Action Group Inc. (CPAG) was registered as a charity with the Charities Commission  on 5 June 2008 (Reg. No. CC25387). According to Wikipedia on-line, it “is a New Zealand political advocacy group for the abolition of poverty and social exclusion…. CPAG describes itself as ‘an independent charity working to eliminate child poverty in New Zealand through research, advocacy and education’. CPAG speaks out on behalf of tens of thousands of New Zealand’s poorest children…”

Records from the Charities Commission website show that CPAG had a gross income of $132,361 for the financial year ended 31 March 2011, and of that, $62,638 was spent on wages for one full-time employee and two other part-timers: involved in administration and research (47% of total income). In addition $1,033 of CPAG income was spent specifically on office administration and $486 to cover employees’ ACC Levies. 58 hours per week (average) in total of paid work, was funded by CPAG. In 2010/11 it received $105,000 in non-government grants and sponsorship, $16,757 in donations, and $2,660 in membership fees. (se www.charities.govt.nz).

CPAG – Aotearoa New Zealand has a clear focus on political advocacy, involving the promotion of “better policies [laws] for children and young persons – illustrated by the following activities…. [Read more…]