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SOCIETY FOR PROMOTION OF COMMUNITY STANDARDS INC.

National Council of Women NZ a charity again but vows to keep bite

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Timaru Herald (11 May 2013) reports: Timaru National Council of Women New Zealand members are celebrating the organisation regaining its charitable status after a 2 -year battle.

NCWNZ lost its registration in 2010, one year after being first registered as a charity, due to its alleged political lobbying.

Timaru council president Avril Demetriades said they were shocked when they lost the charity status as they had not changed what they had been doing.

“We are not party political, we treat all governments the same and give them hell when we think they need it.”

She said all types of people benefited from NCWNZ’s work, not just women and children.

Its budget did not allow for an appeal against the deregistration at the time; instead it reapplied.

National president Elizabeth Bang said the successful reapplication was backed up by boxes of evidence on the organisation’s activities.

New Zealand was the first NCW in the world to be deregistered, which Mrs Bang said was quite ironic.

“We were the first country to give women the vote.”

She said it had been worth persevering as the lack of registration had affected the council badly, as it could not apply to trusts for funds without it and was dependent on membership fees only.

The organisation did not have a single focus as it had members who were far Left and far Right in their views and it would continue to make submissions on a variety of issues, Mrs Bang said.

“We have proven education, and public benefit and we are not for profit.”

NCW FACTS

Established in 1896 at a women’s convention in Christchurch with suffragette Kate Shepherd. Its aim is to serve women, family and community through research, information, representation and action. There are 23 branches throughout New Zealand, and about 4500 members. which includes those who do not belong to a branch

Source:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/timaru-herald/news/8660208/NCW-a-charity-again-but-vows-to-keep-bite

Story by Esther Ash-Coventry. 11 May 2013

Fairfax NZ News

National Council of Women (NCWNZ) wins back charitable status

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NCWNZ Media Release (19 April 2013)

“The National Council of Women of New Zealand (NCWNZ) is absolutely delighted that it has
regained its rightful place on the charities register,” National Council of Women of New Zealand
(NCWNZ) President Barbara Arnold said today.

Barbara Arnold was commenting on the decision of the Board of the Charities Commission to
reinstate NCWNZ as a registered charity, after deregistering it in August 2010.

“It has taken 32 months of hard work and considerable anxiety to have the 2010 decision
reversed. We are especially grateful to Sue Barker Charities Law, without whose hard work we
simply would not have been able to achieve this outcome,” Barbara Arnold said.

“We always knew the Commission’s original decision was wrong. The fact that NCWNZ was alone

among other national councils of women throughout the world in being a non registered charity

was a telling factor in itself.

“However the work involved in overturning the decision has been significant. We feel for other
charities which may be forced to accept an adverse decision because they do not have the
resources to challenge it. We need to ask as a community whether the system we have in place for
challenging decisions of the charities regulator is working for us as a country.

“In the 117 years since its establishment, NCWNZ has worked tirelessly for the betterment of
women, the family and the community. This decision puts NCWNZ back where it belongs as a
registered charitable entity and allows us to get on with what we have been doing for over a
hundred years and what we aim to continue doing for many more,” Barbara Arnold said.

ENDS

For more information contact:
Elizabeth Bang
Immediate Past President NCWNZ

http://www.ncwnz.org.nz/assets/Uploads/NCWNZ-wins-back-charitable-status.pdf

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1304/S00239/ncwnz-wins-back-charitable-status.htm

Women’s advocate wins trust battle for charitable status

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The Manawatu Standard (20 April) reports:

Palmerston North women’s advocate Barbara Arnold has led the National Council of Women of New Zealand [NCWNZ] to victory in the battle to get reinstated as a charitable trust.  [As of 6 May NCWNZ has yet to receive the full decision of the Charities Registration Board/Department of Internal Affairs, setting out the reasons and the grounds for the reasons for the reinstatement]

The council, established 117 years ago to empower women, family and the community, was deregistered by the Charities Commission in 2010 after a review of the Charities Act.

Ms Arnold, the national president, said it has taken 32 months of hard work and considerable anxiety to have that decision reversed.

“We always knew the commission’s original decision was wrong,” she said.

“The fact the council was alone among other national councils of women throughout the world in being a non-registered charity was a telling factor in itself.”

Ms Arnold said the work involved in overturning the decision was significant and could be common among other not-for-profit groups.

“We feel for other charities which may be forced to accept an adverse decision because they do not have the resources to challenge it,” she said. “We need to ask as a community whether the system we have in place for challenging decisions of the charities regulator is working for us as a country.

“The decision puts the council back where it belongs as a registered charitable entity and allows us to get on with what we have been doing for over a hundred years and what we aim to continue doing for many more.”

Source

Women’s advocate wins trust battle

http://www.stuff.co.nz/manawatu-standard/news/8576018/Womens-advocate-wins-trust-battle