SPCS

SOCIETY FOR PROMOTION OF COMMUNITY STANDARDS INC.

Charity too vital a concept to be manipulated by self-interest – Opinion Piece

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OPINION: When I was young, I was taught that charity was a good thing. My old clothes would be thrown into bins for children in Africa. I still feel sorry for the poor kid in Gambia or Togo who had to wear my awful purple nylon polo-neck skivvies, fawn flared slacks with a built-in elastic belt, and embroidered kaftans. But at least we knew what a charity was.

Today things are a little more confusing. Though the legislation covering charities is based on principles stretching back more than 400 years, some charities are occasionally deemed “non- charitable” by Charity Services, part of the Department of Internal Affairs, because they are seen as engaging in advocacy more than operating in the public good.

That is why Greenpeace and the Sensible Sentencing Trust are not registered charities. You may, like me, think that the National Council of Women is an excellent organisation that works in the public interest, yet until recently it did not qualify as a registered charity. But does it really matter if an organisation is registered or not? [Read more…]

Sexual advice for teens [from NZFPA, NZAF and Rainbow Youth] “seriously flawed” – Expert opinion

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Monday June 17, 2013 Source: ONE News. Resources [from the New Zealand Family Planning Association Inc., the New Zealand AIDS Foundation and Rainbow Youth Inc. – all are registered charities], to advise young people on sexual health in New Zealand are seriously flawed and skip over critical information, a campaign group claims.

Family First [NZ] has commissioned US psychiatrist Dr Miriam Grossman to review several websites and other resources aimed at advising sexually active young people.

Grossman, who describes herself as a sexual health “activist” on her website, says the resources fail to give thorough information and “students are left misinformed, and with a false sense of security”.

She examined several websites recommended to young people including curious.org.nz, getiton.org.nz, theword.org.nz, sexnrespect.co.nz, iwannaknow.org and attitude.org.nz.

“While most of these resources claim to promote sexual health, we find, overall, little encouragement of restraint or self-discipline. Instead, students are informed that at any age, sexual freedom is a ‘right’,” Grossman said.

For full story see:

http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/sexual-advice-teens-seriously-flawed-expert-5466779

Note:

The New Zealand Family Planning Association Inc. (Reg, No. CC11104), Rainbow Youth Inc, (Reg. No. CC24284) and the New Zealand AIDS Foundation (Reg. No. CC22230) are all registered charities involving in advocacy. Rainbow Youth runs the website www.curious.org.nz and www.rainbowyouth.org.nz The NZFPA runs the website www.theword.org.nz and promotes material from www.iwannaknow.org NZAF (Reg. No. CC22230) runs the websites www.getiton.org.nz and www.nzaf.org.nz and is the registrant for the domain name curious.org.nz (administered by Rainbow Youth

SAFE – Save Animals from Exploitation (a registered charity) demands ban on rodeo “animal abuse industry”

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Save Animals From Exploitation (S.A.F.E.), a registered charity (Reg. No CC40428) with the Charities Commission, is an “animal rights activist”/political advocacy lobby group demanding law changes to safeguard animals from claimed abuse. As part of their “animal advocacy” crusades, SAFE charity workers have used tactics such as flamboyant and high profile publicity stunts, harrassment of business enterprises and their employees and patrons, civil disobedience and civil disruption.

Fairfax Media reports today that SAFE executive director Hans Kriek has described the government’s rodeo code as “complete nonsense” and rodeos as “essentially an animal abuse industry”. SAFE is demanding government legislate for a complete ban on the sport nationwide.

The 2003 Rodeo Code of Welfare, which sets the minimum standards of care and best practice for rodeos, is under review and Kriek has stated:

“We see no point at all in the review of the code. We will make it clear to the Government that it is time to ban rodeos. Every single animal rights organisation is against rodeos.”

However, Canterbury Vets owner Steve Williams and Canterbury SPCS manager Geoff Sutton disputed this claim at the Methven Rodeo yesterday.

Mr Williams, who vetted every animal at the ground yesterday, said organisers went above and beyond the current code of practice. He does not allow animals to compete if they are not up to the task.

Safe Campaign Manager Mandy Carter, stated in a media release dated 19 April 2012:

“Rodeos are merely a cruel display of man’s dominance and abuse of animals. These animals are forced to endure needless suffering and gross mistreatment, all for the sake of so-called entertainment. There is simply no excuse”.

As part of its political advocacy campaign, SAFE is demanding that government establish a Commissioner for Animals, a new office outside the Ministry for Primary Industries, which could independently represent animal welfare.

SAFE, which describes itself as “the leading animal advocacy group”, received $691,268 from public charity (tax-deductible) donations in the financial year ended 31 March 2011. It spent $589,430 – on paying the salaries and wages of nine full-time and five part-time staff charity workers.  Its financial accounts for the year ended 31 March 2012, that were due on 30 September 2012, are overdue and yet to be filed with the Charities Commission.

References:

1. Ban rodeos, activist says. By Charlie Mann. 22 October 2012.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/7845946/Ban-rodeos-activist-says

2. Charities Commission website. www.charities.govt.nz

3. SAFE Media Release 19 April 2012.

Animal Advocacy Group Angered at Rodeo Inaction

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK1204/S00441/animal-advocacy-group-angered-at-rodeo-inaction.htm

4. SAFE Media Release 21 August 2012

Government urged to make high animal welfare standards a reality

http://www.safe.org.nz/images.php?oid=16798

5.  SAFE (Save Animals From Exploitation) – a registered charity & its “political advocacy”

https://www.spcs.org.nz/wp-admin/post.php?post=4078&action=edit

6. https://www.spcs.org.nz/wp-admin/post.php?post=3446&action=edit

7. https://www.spcs.org.nz/wp-admin/post.php?post=3497&action=edit

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.

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…]