New Charities Registration Board appointed

June 29, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Community and Voluntary Sector Minister Jo Goodhew announced today the members of the newly established Charities Registration Board.

From 1 July, the functions of the former Charities Commission will be undertaken by the Department of Internal Affairs.

“The new Charities Registration Board will be established on 1 July and will make independent decisions on applications from organisations that wish to register for charitable status,” Mrs Goodhew says.

“It will also decide the removal of charitable status from registered charities that do not continue to meet the necessary requirements.

“I am pleased to announce that I have appointed Roger Miller as Chair of the new Charities Registration Board.

“Mr Miller is a Wellington lawyer and Registered Trustee, whose specialisations include trust law and governance. He chairs the Scots College Foundation and the Porirua City Council Community Services Board and is a trustee of Performing Arts Foundation of New Zealand.”

The other two members of the Board are:

Caren Rangi, a chartered accountant and audit specialist from Napier. Ms Rangi has extensive community governance experience and is currently a board member of the Broadcasting Commission (NZ On Air) and a trustee of the Eastern and Central Community Trust.

Kirikaiahi Albert, a Wellington lawyer with experience in taxation, Treaty settlements and iwi governance. Ms Albert is active in the M?ori legal community, Wellington rugby league and international indigenous networks.

“Together the members bring the skills, experience and diversity necessary to fulfil the independent functions of the Board in a manner that over time will earn the confidence of the charitable sector and the New Zealand public.”

There will be no substantive changes for registered charities or applicants for registration arising from the transition to the new structure. Access to information about charities on the Charities Register and all the educational guidance developed for charities will continue to be available on the website www.charities.govt.nz.

Source: http://www.national.org.nz/Article.aspx?ArticleID=38852

also:  http://feeds.beehive.govt.nz/release/new-charities-registration-board-appointed

Filed Under: Announcement Tagged With: , , ,

Family Life International – a registered charity – explains what’s wrong with pornography

June 29, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Family Life International, a charity registered by the New Zealand Charities Commission, has published a clear response to the question “What’s wrong with pornography?”

It is noteworthy that the Charities Commission, headed by Mr Trevor Garrett, has stringent policies in place outlawing the dissemination, viewing, transmission and possession of “pornography” in the work place by its employees, including such activities involving workplace computers. The SPCS commends the management of the Commission for putting such policies in place and ensuring that employees in breach of these policies are dismissed and/or severely sanctioned.

Overview [of FLI article]: Thanks to the focused and concentrated efforts of pornography moguls like Playboy magazine’s Hugh Hefner, pornography has now become mainstream fare on television, film and in literature. In fact it has become so prolific that those who express their disdain for pornography are looked down upon with suspicion and ridicule.

Magazines like Playboy which were once considered gross obscenity are now touted as a cultural rite of passage, or even a form of modern art. The most frightening aspect of pornography is that it is so widely accepted while the research regarding its true effects on society and the human person is almost completely ignored.

For full article see: http://www.fli.org.nz/Home/Pornography/tabid/2031/Default.aspx

Filed Under: Enforcement, Pornography Tagged With: , ,

Family First NZ – a registered charity – calls for abortion law change

June 28, 2012 by Leave a Comment

The latest figures released by Statistics NZ on June 19 show a drop in abortions. There were 15,863 abortions performed in New Zealand in 2011 as compared to 16,650 in the previous year, the lowest number since 1999.

To grasp the size of this number, one can compare it with the current population figures for three vibrant rural NZ towns: Tokoroa (14,200), Cambridge (14,400) and Ashburton (16,100).

If all the inhabitants of each of these three towns were killed, one town at a time per year, over three years, through the medical intervention of skilled registered health practitioners, funded by the tax-payer, pro-lifers argue that this would gives us a good comparison (numbers-wise) of the devastating impact of removing the same number of unborn children under our present system of (effectively) “abortion on demand”, over the last three years.

In the case of the elimination of foetuses (unborn children), the ability of these “victims” to respond to, protest, retaliate against, call for “human rights protection”, or seek refuge, from impending surgical removal; is somewhat muted compared to the elevated, hysterical, well-educated and strident calls for mercy that would come from the more mature denizens of Tokoroa, Cambridge and Ashburton, if they were faced with surgical elimination (genocide).

But of course, this gulf between the level and quality of the hypothetical ‘protest actions’ mounted by foetuses, compared with those  mounted by those actually able to speak for themselves; is perfectly comprehensible. The latter group, faced with elimination, are treated under current law as, in effect, “a superior class of human beings” – one that is “mature”, “fully sentient”, and “highly educated” (relatively speaking) and worthy of full “human rights” protections – while foetuses in contrast are “the unborn” – a mere “category” of “non-sentient” development tissue (sub-human/less than human).

The “passing” (elimination) of a foetus does not warrant the erection of a tomb stone or a national memorial, nor a death notice in a local paper, nor the awarding of a posthumous Queens Honours award for crowning achievements. Their crowns are not yet fully-formed, nor their tongues, nor their language-functions, nor their sensory apparatus, when they were aborted.

On average 55 teens have an abortion in New Zealand every week, 17 per cent being performed at 12 weeks or later despite the research on foetal development that has revealed the exquisite beauty and wondrous complexity of the organ and tissue structures of the unborn child, even as early as 12 weeks.

Challenge Weekly (June 25) reports that Family First NZ, a charity registered with the Charities Commission, “is calling for a law which requires informed consent, including ultrasound, for all potential abortions, and counselling to be provided only by non-providers of abortion services. Parental notification of teenage pregnancy and abortion should happen automatically except in exceptional circumstances approved by the court.

“It is incorrect to label abortion as ‘pro-choice’, because nobody chooses to be in the situation of unwanted pregnancy and having to make such a difficult decision,” said Mr McCoskrie.

The fact that 6042 women were recorded in NZ as having had a repeat abortion in 2011, has raised serious concerns among  members of pro-life groups.

References

1. Source of quotes from Family First NZ: Challenge Weekly, June 25, 2012, p. 3.

2. Statistics NZ – report released 19 June 2012

3. Cities Population data http://www.tageo.com/index-e-nz-cities-NZ.htm

Note: The SPCS has as one of its objects: “To promote recognition of the sanctity of human life and its preservation in all stages” (s. 2[b] of SPCS Constitution). Approved by the Charities Commission on 17 December 2007 (Reg. No. CC20268).

For more material from a Christian perspective on abortion see chapter 6 of Dr William Lane Craig’s Hard Questions, Real Answers. Online here:

http://christian-apologetics.org/2012/abortion-hard-questions-real-answers/

Filed Under: Abortion, Pro-life Tagged With: , , , ,

Does sex education belong in schools? – TV One Close Up

June 27, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Does sex education belong in schools? – TV One Close Up

On TV One’s Close Up on 25 June 2012, host presenter Mark Sainsbury talked to American psychiatrist Dr Miriam Grossman and Auckland sex education specialist, Dr Katie Fitzpatrick. Dr Grossman has been brought to New Zealand by Family First NZ, a registered charity with the Charities Commission, to speak at its Conference on Thursday 28 June, in Auckland.

Dr Grossman was highly critical of the approach taken to sex education in our schools by the New Zealand Family Planning Association Inc. (FPA), another charity and lobby group like Family First NZ, registered with the Charities Commission. She referred to FPA material which she said failed to point young people towards the “ideals”of abstinence before marriage, fidelity and faithfulness within marriage, and the true nature of marriage as a life-long loving commitment of a man and a woman – providing a secure structure in which children can be raised and nurtured in an stable, safe and supportive loving environment – one that is sanctioned by the state.

She accused FPA of (1) focusing on the mere mechanics of sex and condom use in particular, (2) failing to highlight the “ideal” goal for young people to pursue of establishing a life-long commitment to a loving relationship where sexual intimacy can be expressed as nature intended, (3) disseminating misinformation about the ‘safety’/effectiveness level of condoms as a safeguard against STI transmission, and (4) accepting as a given that sexual promiscuity is so widespread among young persons that little can be done to address the problems of unwanted pregnancies and STDs, other than handing out free condoms and informing young pregnant girls about how they can secure an abortion.

Dr Katie Fitzpatrick disagreed and vigorously defended FPA’s policies and practice, stressing that instruction in the nature of human relationships within which sexual intercourse is appropriate is in fact taught by FPA. However, the evidence cited by Grossman from FPA website and printed content, indicated that it is largely devoid of any messages encouraging teenagers to abstain from sex prior  to marriage (as an alternative to casual sex) and certainly provides few if any with reasons for doing so.

Grossman feels that FPA has failed to inform young people of the seriousness of the consequences of engaging in promiscuous casual sex. FBA material such as “Get it On” and content on its “theword” website (www.theword.org.nz) came in for attack.

The New Zealand Family Planning Association Inc. (“Family Planning”) was registered as a charity with the Charities Commission on 13 September 2007 (Reg. No. CC11104). In the financial year ended 30 June 2011 FPA received income made up of $11,362,189 (government grants/contracts), $859,746 (other grants), $2,039,486 (income from service), $2,779 (membership fees) and $11,089 (donations). Its total gross income was $15,071,008, the bulk of it sourced from NZ taxpayers.

FPA’s total expenditure for 2010/11 was $14,624,562 with $10,014,371 alone spent on salaries and wages. It employed 62 people full-time and 214 people part-time. In an average week 6500 hours of paid work was carried out, the vast bulk of it funded by the NZ taxpayer.

Filed Under: Sexuality Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Loving Every Child: Defying Eugenics

June 27, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Loving Every Child

4 August 9.30am – 5.00pm,
Saint Columba Centre,
40 Vermont St,
Ponsonby,
Auckland.

This all day seminar is garnering a lot of interest. Topics include a history of eugenics and the current antenatal screening programme for Down syndrome and other conditions. For more information about the day or if you would like to attend please email brendanr.fli@xtra.co.nz or phone (09) 629 4361. Base donation of $20 please.

Confirmed speakers are:

Dr Gary Dennis, Rita Joseph, Dr Deirdre Little, Mike Sullivan, Colleen Bayer, Diane Belcher, Dr Catherine Hallagan with podcasts from Janet Lord and Dr Gregor Wolbring. You can download a brochure for the seminar which includes the speaker’s profiles and the subjects they will be speaking on.

Filed Under: Eugenics

Dr Miriam Grossman – US Psychiatrist Who Called Foul on Sex Educators – Visits NZ

June 26, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Press Release: Family First Lobby (25 June). Family First NZ, a charity registered with the Charities Commission, has brought a  “US Psychiatrist Who Called Foul on Sex Educators” to speak at its “Forum on the Family” on Thursday 28 June, in Auckland……

Dr Miriam Grossman is coming to New Zealand as a guest of Family First NZ and will undertake an extensive tour and media campaign. She will also be a keynote speaker at the annual Forum on the Family on Thursday 28 June. www.forumonthefamily.org.nz and is speaking to Auckland school principals and trustees at a public meeting http://www.familyfirst.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Trustee-meeting.pdf
Miriam Grossman, M.D., is a board certified child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist. She attended New York University Medical School and completed her residency in psychiatry, followed by a fellowship in child and adolescent psychiatry, through Cornell University. She writes and speaks internationally to parents, students, educators, legislators and health professionals internationally on the dangers of political correctness in her profession. She is the author of You’re Teaching My Child WHAT? A Physician Exposes the Lies of Sex Education and how they harm your child (2009) and Unprotected: A Campus Psychiatrist Reveals How Political Correctness in Her Profession Endangers Every Student (2006)

Miriam Grossman, MD, psychiatrist, author, and whistle-blower has lectured at the UN Commission on the Status of Women and in Britain’s House of Lords. Dr. Grossman’s mission is to highlight the dangers of last century’s anything-goes, condom-based approach to sexual health. With examples from cutting edge research, she proves that sex is a serious matter, and can never be “casual,” especially for girls. Her politically-incorrect books and lectures provide parents with urgently needed ammunition to counter the hazardous messages that bombard young people, some of which come from trusted sources.

Instead of teaching our children biological truths, sex educators are lying to them, ignoring science in favor of radical and dangerous social agendas. Dr. Miriam Grossman will rip back the curtain on sex education today, exposing a sordid scam. She has treated more than 2,000 students at one of America’s most prestigious universities, and she’s seen how the anything-goes, women-are-just-like-men, “safer-sex” agenda is actually making our sons and daughters sick.

Ends

Source: Scoop News: US Psychiatrist Who Called Foul on Sex Educators – Visits NZ

Monday, 25 June 2012, 8:51 am
Press Release: Family First Lobby.

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1206/S00340/us-psychiatrist-who-called-foul-on-sex-educators-visits-nz.htm

Filed Under: Sexuality Tagged With: , , , , ,

Sex education failing Kiwi teens says US psychiatrist Dr Miriam Grossman

June 26, 2012 by Leave a Comment

NZ Herald Story: Teenagers are being let down by sex education that doesn’t tell them it’s best to wait until you’re an adult and have one sexual partner for life, a visiting physician says.

But Family Planning disputes United States psychiatrist Dr Miriam Grossman’s characterisation of New Zealand’s sex education. She has been brought here by the conservative lobby group Family First to speak at a conference in Auckland on Thursday.

Dr Grossman said she took up writing and speaking on the “harms” of sex education after her experiences as a campus psychiatrist at the University of California.

She saw many female students who were panicking about having, or possibly having, a sexually transmitted infection (STI), being pregnant, having had an abortion, or being confused about their emotional attachment to a man who had no intention of becoming emotionally attached to them.

“They didn’t understand we are wired, both men and women, but especially women, to become emotionally attached to people we are intimate with.”

She said this was omitted from the range of sex education materials produced in New Zealand that she had viewed.

Dr Grossman said sex education, like other public-health initiatives, should present the “ideal”, such as in nutrition.

In sexuality – “and I’m not talking about morality, I’m a physician” – the ideal was one sexual partnership for life, delayed until adulthood.

“People that are able to achieve that – not that this is so easy – never have to worry about these myriad health issues.”

Health issues included STIs and human papilloma virus (HPV), which is a key factor in cervical cancers.

Dr Grossman cited a Family Planning website, theword.org.nz, and pamphlet, both aimed at young people, which encouraged those considering becoming sexually active to make sure they were ready and to talk with their partner about contraception, but did not tell them to talk to a responsible adult.

And she said sex education materials in New Zealand dangerously overstated the degree of protection people could expect from condoms, even when correctly used.

Family Planning chief executive Jackie Edmond said, “We support telling people to have loving, caring relationships and young people to delay having sexual onset.

“We don’t aspire to talking about the ideal of one sexual relationship. We are pragmatic – and we are dealing with young people.”

Family Planning referred to condoms as providing “safer” sex, not “safe” sex.

“You can get HPV through genital contact; condoms don’t necessarily protect against that.”

Source NZ Herald. 25 June 2012. Story by Martin Johnston

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/health/news/article.cfm?c_id=204&objectid=10815278

Filed Under: Sexuality Tagged With: , ,

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

June 25, 2012 by 2 Comments

Protest challengers cage egg industry: SAFE – registered charity and political entity: its “perpetual advocacy of a particular view”. TV One 7 AM News reported this morning that animal welfare activists from a registered charity SAFE (Save Animals from Exploitation Inc.) and other animal rights lobbyists have mounted a campaign of civil disobedience by blocking the entrance to the Mainland Poultry complex in Waikouaiti, just north of Dunedin, in order to protest against the farming of poultry in colony battery cages.

SAFE issued its Media release to Voxy News at 4.54 am today that alerted media to the protest (see link below). A TV One News crew was at the protest site reading for filming at the crack of dawn today  – thanks to the registered charity SAFE.

The array of lobbyists are demanding that the law be changed to outlaw such farming practices and intend to remain in place infringing the rights of workers and management to enter the complex and go about their lawful business, until they are removed by police. SAFE campaign director Eliot Pryor was part of the ground crew coordinating the blockade of  Mainland Poutry, and was supported by other SAFE members present.

Since it was registered as a charity (CC40428) with the Charities Commission headed by Mr Trevor Garrett, on 30 June 2008, SAFE’s vociferous lobbyists have been engaged in the “perpetual advocacy of a particular point of view”, to use the ‘terminology’ of the Charities Commission’s Monitoring and Investigations Team.    

SAFE’s  financial accounts (available on line on the Charities Commission’s website www.charities.govt.nz), reveal that in the financial year ended 31 March 2011, it employed nine full-time charity workers and 5 part-timers. SAFE records a total annual salary and wages bill of $589,430, for the financial year ended 31 March 2011. This pay-out constituted 61% of the charity’s annual income of $917,315 sourced from donations from the New Zealand public.

Voxy News reports today:

MEDIA RELEASE BY SAFE

Protest challenges cage egg industry

Access to the largest battery cage facility in New Zealand has been blocked today by animal welfare activists protesting against cages for layer hens.

Early this morning eight metre high tripod structures with climbers suspended were set up at the entrance to the Mainland Poultry complex in Waikouaiti and activists from The Coalition to End Factory Farming expect to remain in place until they are forced down.

“The action is being carried out to highlight the continued cruelty of cages,” says SAFE Campaign director Eliot Pryor, “and especially to stop the introduction of the proposed colony battery cage system. Both SAFE and The Coalition to End Factory Farming want to see all cages banned for egg-laying hens. The so-called enriched colony cages are not an acceptable alternative to the existing system as the welfare benefits are so minimal.”

“Mainland Poultry has refused the media access to these new colony battery cages and it is easy to see why,” says Mr Pryor. “They do not want the public to see the abhorrent conditions the animals are forced to live in. They do not want to explain to consumers why hens are crammed inside cages so cramped they have barely any room to move.”

Secretly filmed images of the colony battery cages in the Mainland facility, showing a dark future for New Zealand’s three million battery hens, were revealed by activists on national television earlier this year. The Minister for Primary Industries, David Carter, is considering approving the introduction of colony battery cages as part of the new welfare code for layer hens.

Colony battery cages do not provide the hens with the opportunity to display their normal behaviour as required by the Animal Welfare Act. Both New Zealand and international animal welfare agencies have condemned them, declaring the cages “fail to properly meet the hens’ physical or behavioural needs”.

“The law does not meet the welfare needs of these animals and as the law fails the hens, and producers resist moving to better welfare systems, you will find more reaction from consumers,” says Mr Pryor. “All retailers need to be looking again at their supply chain and asking themselves what their customers would find acceptable.”

Eighty per cent of Kiwis are opposed to battery cages, and SAFE encourages the public not to be fooled into believing that the new colony battery cages are acceptable. Consumers can contact the Minister directly to demand a ban on all cages at nocages.org.nz.

Media Release from Animal rights activist charity SAFE (Save Animals From Exploitation).

Voxy News. Monday 25 June 2012

http://www.voxy.co.nz/national/protest-challenges-cage-egg-industry/5/127249

Reference: www.nzopenrescue.org.nz ”SAFE campaign director Eliot Pryor was part of the ground crew” [in the blockade of Mainland Poultry]

 

Filed Under: Political Advocacy Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Child Youth & Family (CYF) apology after teen placed with rapist – Stuff.co.nz

June 24, 2012 by Leave a Comment

A Taranaki woman who was put in the care of a convicted rapist during her teens has had an apology from Child Youth and Family.

At 16, the woman whose real name has not been released, was taken from her family and placed with an uncle who had spent six years in prison for taking part in a gang rape and who subsequently sexually abused her.

The woman said a friend of her uncle’s who has since died from AIDS also abused her and she and her first born son are HIV positive.

In a statement reported by Marae Investigates, the Ministry of Social Development said it was a gap in CYF policy that had let the woman down.

“In 2001 it wasn’t mandatory for CYF staff to do criminal checks around family placement decisions made at youth justice Family Group Conferences.”

Ministry of Social Development deputy chief executive David Shanks said that staff at the time still had to check the suitability of caregivers and the Ministry does not condone the placement of any child or young person with a convicted sex offender.

The woman was removed from her uncle’s care after reporting the abuse.

Criminal checks for CYF placements became compulsory early this year.

“I can assure the public that our assessment process has been strengthened in more recent years, with staff expected to do police checks if there were any concerns around family/whanau placements,” Mr Shanks said.

Source: Stuff.co.nz  Fairfax NZ News. 24 June 2012

See: http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/7161890/CYF-apology-after-teen-placed-with-rapist

Filed Under: Crime, Sexual Dysfunction Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society Inc – registered charity engaging in political advocacy

June 22, 2012 by Leave a Comment

The Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society Inc. is listed alongside the Society for Promotion of Community Standards Inc. (“SPCS”) in The Encyclopedia of New Zealand under its section entitled “Cause Interest Groups“. Both are registered charities with the Charities Commission.

“Forest and Bird”, as it has come to be known in the media, was registered as a charity on 30 June 2008 (Reg. No. 26948) and one of its objectives is identical to that of  the SPCS (CC20268) – fund-raising so that it can advance its objectives. SPCS which was registered as a charity on 17 December 2007 also raises funds (see s. 2[g] of SPCS constitution). Both entities are incorporated societies. SPCS was registered as an incorporated society on 25 September 1975 (Reg. No. 217833).

Forest and Bird objectives are aimed at saving society from the negative impact of the degeneration and degradation of the physical and biological environment, with the consequent loss of invaluable species. SPCS objectives are centred on advancing spiritual and moral welfare and alerting the public to the negative impact of the degeneration and degradation of moral and community standards.

The Encyclopedia entry confirms that Forest and Bird is a lobbying group, heavily involved in political advocacy:

“Scenery preservation societies were formed in the 1880s to maintain town belts and urban reserves, and then began lobbying for the preservation of native forest in general. This led to the Scenery Preservation Act 1903, a landmark measure in protecting New Zealand’s heritage.

“In 1923, angered by the destruction of Kapiti Island’s natural ecosystem, Val Sanderson founded what became the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society (later Forest and Bird). Since then the society has lobbied governments to protect endangered animal species and wild places. In 2011 its management team included a lawyer, marketing managers and professional lobbyists. It had 50 branches and 70,000 members and supporters.”

Source: http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/interest-groups/3

In the financial year ended 28 February 2011, Forest and Bird received grants and sponsorship totalling $1,459,709. It spent $2,248,348 of its gross income of $5,363,055 on salaries and wages. Its total expenses were $5,830,455 (source: www.charities.govt.nz).

The vigorous lobbying work undertaken by Forest and Bird – an environmental charity group – involves some of its officers having to regularly publicly criticise Ministers of the Crown, company officials, regional councillors and other public officials, over their policies, attitudes and actions. Some may well feel targeted and aggrieved to be singled out. Such ‘victims’ often like to remain hidden in anonymity behind their corporation structure or ministry machinery.

Robust debate is entered into by Forest and Bird and great efforts are engaged in to prod the consciences of some of these officials, to spur them into action to save the environment. Protest action is not foreign to Forest and Bird whose members have been known to trespass on private land by ‘nesting’ high in trees and chain themselves to earth-moving equipment to campaign against the logging of native forests. Such zeal is greatly admired by the environmental community and applauded by SPCS members.

Charities such as Forest and Bird must not be allowed to have their wings clipped by those seeking to stifle freedom of expression and who are determined to curtail robust public debate on ‘sensitive’ issues.

The moral and spiritual welfare of our physical and biological environment is worth upholding, as are the community and moral standards that have been the foundation of our society.

Filed Under: Moral Values Tagged With: , , , , ,
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