Family First should not be a charity
The Herald reports:
A lobby group fighting to keep its status as a registered charity says it operates the way it always has, so it shouldn’t lose its status.
Family First is appealing a decision the Charities Registration Board made to de-register it in 2013.
The group said its opposition to gay marriage was the reason Charities Services wanted to deregister it.
The Charities Registration Board said Family First’s main purpose was to promote “particular points of view about family life” and the lobby group did not advance religion or education, nor promote a benefit to all New Zealanders, as the law required charities to do.
I don’t think Family First should be eligible to be a registered charity. Likewise I don’t think the Sensible Sentencing Trust should qualify. Ditto for Greenpeace and the National Council of Women. And neither should commercial companies owned by religions or Iwi.
We should have a much tighter definition of charity in NZ, and only register organisations that:
- provide welfare, education or health services to needy families
- provide funding for public good activities such as conservation
The antics of Greenpeace yesterday shows what a mockery of the law it would be, for them to be a registered charity.