Advocacy Work for Public Benefit is Charitable!

“We could have been the first to claim the prize of recognising the enormous contribution that advocacy work makes to the lives of the vulnerable had the NZ Charities Commission not been fixated on shutting down democracy and the public participatory process”, says the National Council of Women of New Zealand (NCWNZ).

Yesterday, the Australian Court recognised advocacy work intended for the public benefit was a charitable activity.

NCWNZ has been in a bitter dispute with the Charities Commission, which deregistered the Council in July 2010.

In response, the National Council of Women of New Zealand laid a formal request with the Office of the Ombudsmen for an investigation, late last week.

“We reported to the Ombudsmen that the Charities Commission decision was incorrect and unreasonable,” says Elizabeth Bang, NCWNZ National President.

NCWNZ cannot discuss in detail any of the material submitted to the Ombudsmen, but over 500 pages of information was supplied.

Clarification will be sought from the lawyers taking an interest in NCWNZ’s case regarding whether the Australian case law cited against NCWNZ and no doubt several other deregistered entities, is still valid given this latest Australian Court ruling. This ruling will also be submitted to the Office of the Ombudsmen.

“We applaud the Australian Court decision,” says Elizabeth Bang.

ENDS

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