SPCS

SOCIETY FOR PROMOTION OF COMMUNITY STANDARDS INC.

Gay marriage would see ‘mother’ and father’ disappear – Family First NZ

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Terms such as mother, father, husband and wife could disappear from the law if gay marriage is legalised, MPs have been told.

Family First director Bob McCoskrie told the select committee considering Louisa Wall’s gay marriage bill that Spanish law had recently replaced the terms mother and father with Progenitor A and Progenitor B.

“The US State of Washington is to remove the terms husband and wife from divorce courts,” he said.

“In France the words mother and father will be stripped from official documents, McCoskrie tabled 24,000 extra signatures to petition against the bill on top of 48,000 already presented at parliament.

“I see marriage as similar to the Treaty of Waitangi. It is historical. It is the foundation of our culture,” he said.

“It certainly shouldn’t be altered.”

New Zealand Aids Foundation told the committee that countries with less discrimination against gay people have lower rates of HIV.

“The internalisation of homophobia leads to a devaluation of self and a reduction in the ability of gay, lesbian and transgender people to make positive decisions,” said doctor Jason Myers of the Foundation.

Source

Gay marriage would see ‘mother’ and father’ disappear – McCoskrie

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/gay-marriage/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503276&objectid=10860708

APNZ. Buy Simon Collins

Note: Family First New Zealand is a registered charity (Charity No. CC10094)  and was registered with the Charities Commission on 21 March 2007.

 

Anti gay ‘marriage’ petition has 72,000 signatures

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Conservative lobby group Family First is expected to present a petition containing more than 72,000 signatures to a select committee hearing submissions on legalising gay marriage today.

The select committee is considering 20,000 submissions on Labour MP Louisa Wall’s Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Bill, which would legalise gay marriage in New Zealand.

Family First said in a statement its petition opposing the bill was signed by people from around New Zealand from “all walks of life”.

The petition says: “I support the definition of marriage in New Zealand being maintained as one man one woman. I oppose any attempt to redefine it.”

Family First national director Bob McCoskrie said the petition had exceeded similar campaigns in the UK and Australia per head of population.

“This is an incredible response considering it’s not part of a formal referendum, and it certainly shows the level of public opposition to the bill.

And the signatures continue to come in,” he said.

“Our aim is to gain 100,000 signatures and to encourage politicians not to pass the bill.”

The select committee, which is sitting in Auckland, is also expected to hear from the NZ Christian Network and NZ Campaign for Marriage Equality today.

Source: APNZ

Article by Matthew Theunissen, 22 January 2013

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/gay-marriage/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503276&objectid=10860634

Note: Family First New Zealand is a registered charity (Charity No. CC10094)  and was registered with the Charities Commission on 21 March 2007.

 

Gay Marriage – Nothing New Under the Sun

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Astonishingly, Labour MP Louisa Wall, sponsor and promoter of the Marriage (Redefinition of Marriage) Amendment Bill, and MP John Hayes, stated in their respective contributions to the First Reading of the Bill, that first century Rome and Emperor Nero were societal models for same-sex marriages between men.

What they failed to inform parliament was that while Rome tolerated the marriage of homosexual men it also tolerated incestuous marriages. No mention was made of the fact that Nero was renowned for his vile acts of  brutality and depravity.

As Benjamin Wiker PhD states:

The historian Tacitus [56 – 117 AD] reported that under Nero, tyrannical passion, the hubris of proclaimed divinity, the corruption of power, and “every filthy depraved act, licit and illicit” seemed to reach an imperial peak. Nero not only had a passion for “freeborn  boys” but also for quite literally marrying other men and even a boy, sometimes playing the part of the woman in the union and sometimes the man.

Gay ‘marriage’ was celebrated by a select number of Roman emperors – a spin-off of the general cultural affirmation of homosexuality.

The drive for same-sex ‘marriage’ cannot be couched (by its proponents) as a seamless advance on the civil rights movement…. [it] is not yet another sexual innovation peculiar to our “enlightened age” but a return to pre-Christian pagan sexuality.

Romans adopted the pederasty of the Greeks (aimed generally at boys between the ages of 12 and 18) and generally involving a “freeborn man” and his slave boys or those of others.

See full article by Benjamin Wiker PhD

The Catholic World Report, 22 May 2012.

Gay ‘Marriage’ – Nothing New Under the Sun

http://www.catholicworldreport.com/Item/1367/gay_marriagenothing_new_under_the_sun.aspx#.UP0R8yfSw_Y

www.benjaminwiker.com

David Ross stripped of Institute of Accountants (ICA) membership

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Wellington’s David Ross, at the centre of the collapse of a suspected Ponzi scheme involving about $450 million, has been stripped of his membership of the Institute of Chartered Accountants (ICA), for now.

Under an “interim suspension”, David Robert Gilmour Ross lost his institute membership after a hearing held in secret in the middle of last month. The suspension was announced by the ICA disciplinary tribunal yesterday.

Financial Markets Authority (FMA) staff raided Ross’ offices on The Terrace late last year after investors complained they could not get their money.

Receivers have been able to locate only about $11m of the almost $450m some 900 investors believed was being managed on their behalf by Ross Asset Management Ltd (RAM) [Co. No  455971. Formerly called Quill Investments Ltd].

Last month the first disciplinary action was taken against Ross, with the FMA suspending his licence as an authorised financial adviser for six months as it continues to investigate possible Securities Act breaches.

After the FMA action, the ICA said matters identified by RAM’s receivers warranted a complaint to the professional conduct committee from the institute’s chief executive, which led to the interim suspension.

Ultimately, the institute’s disciplinary tribunal has the power to strike off Ross as a chartered accountant.

Bruce Tichbon, spokesman for the Ross Asset Management Investors Group, said they had expected the suspension.

Tichbon said knowing Ross was a chartered accountant had given him confidence in Ross.

“It gave him an aura of professional respectability,” he said.

Tichbon said other members of the investor group had asked him to pursue whether Ross’ status as an accountant required auditing by the institute.

“I have been informed there were certain burdens on the accounting professional bodies to test the veracity of his services and therefore there was likely to be some grounds for claim there,” Tichbon said, though he had not confirmed that.

The institute carries out a regular review of accountants who hold a certificate of public practice, but it would not comment directly on Ross’ professional conduct. Only members of the institute can call themselves chartered accountants, which means they have certain qualifications and experience.

Meanwhile, Tichbon said regulations relating to apparent Ponzi schemes seemed to be “virtually non-existent”.

“The lack of legal clarity is a serious and cruel issue,” he said, because there was no case law for apparent Ponzi schemes.

Hundreds of investors were left totally up in the air. There were no clear guidelines on how the case should be managed – for example, whether money could be clawed back from some investors who had earlier taken money out. Earlier reports from the receivers showed that since 2000 just over $303m had been invested through the firm, while $29.8m was taken out in fees, and investors withdrew $289m.

“People are really suffering terribly,” Tichbon said, with some investors suffering from depression.

“Instead of a [regulatory] ambulance at the bottom of the cliff, there is a cesspit of broken glass and alligators.”

Source:

Report by James Weir, Fairfax NZ News. 17/01/13

http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/money/8186916/Ross-stripped-of-ICA-membership

Earlier reports:

1. SFO begins probe into David Ross, asset management firm, 19/11/12

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10848504

2. Report by Jonathan Underhill, National Business Review. 04/12/12

http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/ross-asset-investors-face-gruesome-legal-fight-if-ponzi-scheme-shown-bd-133420

3. Report by Hamish Rutherford, Fairfax NZ News. 17/12/12

http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/8090115/Ross-Asset-Management-liquidated

AWINZ trustees’ defamation proceedings using Lord Dowding/Humane Research Fund charity money

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Item 6 in The Royal Society of New Zealand Alert Newsletter 743 states:

6. New Zealand Fund for Humane Research (Lord Dowding Fund) research grant

The Animal Welfare Institute of New Zealand [AWINZ] is seeking expressions of interest for a grant of $20,000 from the New Zealand Fund for Humane Research (Lord Dowding Fund).

The grant will be for research that will contribute to the replacement or reduction of the use of animals in research, testing or teaching, but will not itself involve the use of any animals or animal tissue.

Expressions of interest must be received no later than 28 February 2013. To do this, and/or to seek further information, please email Neil Wells (neil.wells@xtra.co.nz).

The final decision will be made on or before 30 April 2013.

Item 6 Posted 15 November 2012.

Source: http://www.royalsociety.org.nz/2012/11/15/alert-newsletter-743/#6-new-zealand-fund-for-humane-research-lord-dowding-fund-research-grant

The Society (SPCS) has published on its website its investigations into the activities of AWINZ (The Animal Welfare Institute of New Zealand), an unincorporated charitable trust of which Auckland barrister Neil Edward Wells is “the Settlor” of its alleged “Deed of Trust and Revocation” dated 5th December 2006.

AWINZ was registered as a charity with the Charities Commission on 28 September 2007 (Reg. No. CC11235) and has spent $126,850 over four years (2007 to 2011) on defamation proceedings taken by three of its trustees against a ‘whistler blower’ – Ms Grace Haden, a registered private investigator – who has sought to highlight alleged fraudulent and corrupt practices involving the charity and its trustees. The funding for these proceedings, filed in the name of AWINZ trustee Neil Wells of 1308 State Highway 3 Rd 5, Te Kuiti 3985, and two other trustees – Graeme John Coutts and Winifred (Wyn) Norien Hoadley QSO, came from the AWINZ money – specifically a National Bank Term Deposit designated “Lord Dowding Fund” (“LDF”).

Legal proceedings by AWINZ against Ms Haden have continued since Neil Wells filed the last set of AWINZ financial accounts for the year ending 30 June 2011. As the 2012 AWINZ financial accounts are not yet available on the Charities website (they were due to be filed no later than 31/12/12), it is unclear how much more of the “LDF” money has been allegedly mis-used by Neil Edward Wells and his colleagues to advance their case against Ms Haden (they are currently seeking to liquidate her company Verisure Investigations Ltd and bankrupt her) and gain pecuniary benefits from the attempted prosection.

A recent notification on the Charities website indicates that the AWINZ 2012 financials have just been received , but the documents remain “restricted” (no reason given). It is noteworthy that AWINZ trustees Neil Edward Wells and Wyn Norien Hoadley have personally received $50,000 and $16,800 respectively from Court awards for “damages” in their joint -defamation case against Ms Haden. Neither beneficiary has personally funded the Court proceedings as the money has all come from LDF.

The Lord Dowding Funds (“LDF”) have been recorded on the Charities website in AWINZ Funds records as $98,208 (2007); $90,000 (2008); $44,000 (2009); $46,281 (2010); $48.209 (2011), with interest earned separately recorded as $9,712 (2007); $7,737 (2008); $3,731 (2009); $2,345 (2010); $1,968 (2011).

The opening accumulated reserves for AWINZ was recorded as $119,767 and $110,226 for 2007 and 2008 respectively. The majority of this money was designated “LDF” money, including interest earned.
According to AWINZ (alleged) Minutes dated 10th May 2006, funds from Beauty with Compassion (BWC), [an incorporated society which was struck off the Societies Register on 6th September 2000], “became part of the operating funds” of AWINZ. This transfer must have occurred some time after Neil Wells wrote to the Secretary of the now defunct BWC, Lucille Heather. on 14th March 2005, as Trustee of AWINZ, soliciting money from BWC for AWINZ, and before 10th May 2006.
Wells recorded in the AWINZ (alleged) Minutes dated 10th May 2006, that “$90,000 is held as deposit for the Lord Dowding Fund … the “balance handed to AWINZ” in 2005.
See: http://www.transparency.net.nz/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/AWINZ-MEETING-MINUTES-doc-10-05-06-original.pdf
See:  http://www.transparency.net.nz/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/lord-dowding.pdf
“Haden Legal costs” incurred by AWINZ are recorded on the Charities website as: $32,312 (2007); $12,904 (2008); $60,150 (2009); $21,484 (2010). This is a total of $126,850.
The only “LDF grant” ever issued by AWINZ since it was registered as a charity on 28 September 2007 was made in 2008 – a grant of $5,750 –  for “research into measuring stress levels in animals kept in custody for long periods”(recipient unstated). [Source: AWINZ Minutes 10/05/2006]. This money came from $8,208 of interest earnt by AWINZ on the LDF “Capital Sum of $90,000”, which had been “credited to the AWINZ general account”. [Source: Email: Chris McIntyre, Charities Commission, to Neil Wells 07/09/2009].
What then has happened to the LDF money in excess of $100,000 transferred to AWINZ from BWC and what is the link to The New Zealand Fund for Humane Research (“NZFFHR”)?
Clearly the bulk of the LDF money ($126,850) has been used to fund defamation proceedings against a registered private investigator Grace Haden. The proceedings had to be lodged in the name of the majortity of the trustees of AWINZ, rather than by AWINZ, because this charitable trust has never been incorporated under the Charitable Trusts Act 1957.
Now AWINZ/Neil Wells is calling for “expressions of interest” from researchers for charity grant money from its so-called “New Zealand Fund for Humane Research (Lord Dowding Fund)“, the same fund that is being used to assist Wells, Coutts and Hoadley pursue and prosecute Grace Haden in the Courts, and gain pecuniary benefit by way of “damages awards”.
The New Zealand Fund for Humane Research (NZFFHR) is effectively a defunct incorporated charitable trust of which Neil Wells has been a trustee since 1983. It remains on the Register of Charitable Trusts ( No. 212230) and was incorporated on 14 August 1981.

The New Zealand Fund for Humane Research (“NZFFHR”) is not associated in any way with the Lord Dowding Fund (“LDF”) and therefore has no right to use its name. Neil Edward Wells is a trustee of both NZFFHR and AWINZ and has merged both NZFFHR and LDF in his call for “expressions of interest” for a $20,000 “New Zealand Fund for Humane Research (Lord Dowding Fund) research grant”. However, they are distinct organisations and “not associated in any way,” according to the Executive Assistant of LDF.

The LDF was founded in 1973 in honour of the President of the National Anti-Vivisection Society (NAVS), Air Chief Marshall the Lord Dowding. For more details go see: http://www.ldf.org.uk and http://www.ldf.org.uk/research/49/50/0/.

References   
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               The Royal Society of New Zealand Alert Newsletter 743 (posted 15/11/2012)
http://www.royalsociety.org.nz/2012/11/15/alert-newsletter-743/#6-new-zealand-fund-for-humane-research-lord-dowding-fund-research-grant.