SPCS

SOCIETY FOR PROMOTION OF COMMUNITY STANDARDS INC.

NZ Charities Commission – to be disestablished – Update

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Last night (29 May 2012) the House of Representatives voted by a strong majority (71 to 49) to split the Crown Entities Reform Bill into three: The Charities Amendment Bill No. 2; The NZ Public Health and Disability Amendment Bill and the Mental Health Commission Amendment Bill. The first of these, passed through its committee stages on the evening of 23 May (see earlier post). All three will be treated as one piece of legislation when they come before the House for the Final Reading and vote (they are on the Order Paper for today).

The Charities Amendment Bill No. 2, once passed into law will see the Charities Commission disestablished on 1 July 2012 and its functions transferred to the Department of Internal Affairs.

(Note: The Charities Amendment Bill, which came out of the Statutes Amendment Bill No. 2, had its third reading and was passed on 16 February 2012. It has received the Royal Assent).

NZ Charities Commission – to be disestablished

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The imminent disestablishment of the New Zealand Charities Commission, scheduled to occur on 1 July 2012, if the Government achieves its legislative plans, has caused some serious concerns among those involved in organisations working in the charities sector. However, some are welcoming the move, in particular some of those who have experienced the downside of the “egregious inner machinations of the complaint-driven deregistration process”, as one aggrieved charity CEO expressed it, with its unreasonable and seemingly blind adherence to an out-dated 400-year old Victorian definition of “charitable purpose”.

A number of influencial media commentators have sounded alarm bells over the last few years as groups such as the highly regarded National Council of Women of New Zealand, Business in the Community Limited (Business Mentors NZ – the nation’s number one not-for-profit mentoring organisation), The Business in the Community Trust,  the Liberty Trust, and many other charities serving the public good; were systematically ‘picked-off’ by the Commission and deregistered. Liberty Trust has been the only deregistered charity to have successfully challenged the Commission’s deregistration decision in the High Court. The Trust was reinstated as a charity on 15 April 2010. [Read more…]

The SPCS Web blog

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As the Society’s executive has clearly stated on this website, ever since the Society was granted charity status by the Charities Commission on 17 December 2007, ………….

The Society’s Web blog aims to stimulate rational reflection on, and reasoned appraisal of, a wide range of issues affecting families and society. Since human opinion is always corrigible and meaningful assertions imply conditions under which they may be falsified, the web blog opinion piece articles are written in the belief that truth is ultimately independent of opinion. The opinions and views expressed in such web log articles do not necessarily wholly reflect the Society’s stance. They are simply deemed to be worth publishing for readers to consider, evaluate, respond to, etc. A careful effort is made to ensure that no article is published that promotes or defends any viewpoint that is contrary to, or might undermine or negate, our Society’s objectives.

Copied from www.spcs.org.nz/activities/

The Society’s objectives have been registered with the Registrar of Societies. See www.societies.govt.nz (Inc. Soc. No. 217833. Incorporated 26/09/07) or viewed at www.spcs.org.nz/objectives/

Update: The Pilgrim’s Progress Book donations to NZ Prisoners

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Society (SPCS) members donated $4,950 in 2010 towards the printing of multiple copies of John Bunyan’s classic work – The Pilgrim’s Progress, and donated $5,245 in 2011: – a total of $10,195 donated over two years (see advertisement for donations on homepage of website). In addition SPCS has raised thousands of dollars from non-members towards this Books in Prisons project via an effective advertising campaign through its newsletters. Donations were used just for printing costs.

The Society has arranged and paid for the distribution of hundreds of the books to prisoners in all 20 NZ prisons. Within the last two weeks it dispatched 26 copies to the Otago Corrections Facility and 20 copies for distribution to the Christchurch Mens Prision.

One prison chaplain recently reported that once word is out that the books are available within the prison, they “fly off the shelf” – snapped up by prisoners seeking spiritual answers found a book that chronicles in timeless allegory the journey of a man – Pilgrim – from the City of Destruction to the Celestial City of God (Heaven).

Pilgrim’s burden of guilt and shame for his sin is lifted from him at the Cross of Christ where he finds forgiveness, God-given faith and the new joy and hope that is the fruit of a true conversion to the Lord Jesus Christ – and is accompanied by genuine repentance.

Author John Bunyan wrote the book while serving time in prison himself and the work is a truly creative expression of his own spiritual journey. It is deeply and richly ingrained with the biblical insights and wisdon he gained after he became a committed believer and follower of Jesus Christ.

The Society executive wishes to thank all its members and others who have contributed so generously towards this Books for Prisoners Project. The work is ongoing and we are heartened by your support and the positive feedback we have received from those working with prisoners who have gained access to the books (Prison Fellowship, Chaplaincy Services etc).

This project in part serves to fulfill the Society’s primary charitable purpose: the promotion of the spiritual and moral welfare of society. In addition it constitutes a public benefit (i.e. it is beneficial to the community)  in a number of self-evident ways (e.g. education and/or rehabilitation of prisoners, relief and/or redemption of prisoners, and aiding the poor etc).

In order to be considered charitable as “any other matters beneficial to the community“, purposes must be beneficial to the community and must be within the spirit and intendment of the purposes set out in the Preamble to The Charitable Uses Act 1601 (the Statute of Elizabeth).

The purposes must benefit the community in a way that the law regards as charitable. The Books for Prisoners Project most definitely qualifies as such and has been positively commended by officials of the Charities Commission when they have met with SPCS executive members on two occasions at the Charities Commission Offices in Wellington.

 

Cynical Porn Parade Will Confront Children – says Family First NZ

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Cynical Porn Parade Will Confront Children: Family First NZ Media Release 22/02/12

Family First NZ [a registered charity with the Charities Commission] is advising parents of school children in Palmerston North to be aware that there will be a public pornography parade featuring topless girls happening after children have been released from school on Friday. [It is again calling for politicians to “amend” the law “so that public porn parades and public displays of nudity are deemed offensive and indecent, and thereby illegal.”]

“The Erotica [Lifestyles Expo] Promotion, also known as Boobs on Bikes, is scheduled to travel around the central city square from 4pm. This is a cynical move by the hard core porn industry to expose children and young people to the industry,” says Bob McCoskrie, National Director of Family First NZ.

“We would advise parents to do everything they can to avoid children being exposed to this parade, and if necessary, they should keep their children at home for the day.”

Family First is disappointed that the parade is even able to happen in such a public venue but points the blame squarely at the police for not enforcing the law consistently, judges who believe that topless porn parades and nudity are not offensive, and the lack of political willpower to act in the best interests of families and children.

“Steve Crow can label it a ‘freedom of expression’ event, but to the intelligent, it is simply a cynical attempt to market and normalise the porn industry to families.”

“It is time that the rights of families not to be exposed to offensive and adult material are put before the rights of the pornography industry to promote themselves,” says Mr McCoskrie.

Family First NZ continues to call on the politicians to amend the Summary Offences Act and the Crimes Act so that public porn parades and public displays of nudity are deemed offensive and indecent, and thereby illegal.

ENDS

www.familyfirst.org.nz

Note: The licensee for staging Erotica Lifestyles Expo is Esprit Events Ltd , a company incorporated on 10 November 2011 by John Malcolm Carr CPA just days before the former licensee Eden Digital Ltd, also directed by John M Carr, was put into liquidation on 22 November. Carr is sole director of CVC Group Ltd,  which  owns Eden Digital Ltd (In Liq) and Esprit Events Ltd. On 16 September 2011 John Carr revoked the license Eden Digital held to stage Erotica. This was done on the same day he resigned as director of Eden Digital Ltd. On 11 November the license was transferred from Eden Digital Ltd to Esprit Events Ltd. CVC Group Ltd owns the trademark for “Boobs on Bikes” – used in the Erotica parade which markets Mr Carr’s hardcore porn business.