Opposition parties back NCW charity status

Labour and the Greens are calling for the Government to show support for the National Council of Women (NCW).

The council is set to lose its charitable status because its policy and advocacy work isn't recognised as having a community benefit. The Charities Commission recommended its deregistration to the Charities Board because its work, which included political lobbying, did not fit within a new interpretation of the four "charitable purposes" laid out in the Charities Act: to be for community benefit, relief of poverty and the advancement of education or religion.

Labour MP Sue Moroney said the Government should support the council to show it valued women and their families.

"Under Labour the NCW was given stakeholder status with the Minister of Women's Affairs and was also registered as a charitable organisation under the current law," she said.

"National no longer gives NCW stakeholder status and now is standing by while its charitable status is about to be cancelled."

Ms Moroney said the council had challenged the National Government on its record regarding women and discrimination.

Green Party spokeswoman for the community and voluntary sector Catherine Delahunty said the law needed to be changed.

"Advocacy plays a legitimate, but not primary role for many charities. The distinction needs to be clear what is and what is not allowable.

"As the law stands, some charities are on tenuous ground. They should not have to operate with fear that they will be deregulated if they make a political statement."

NCW said the amount of political engagement a charitable organisation had "should not be used as a mechanism for selective exclusion".

"Legal interpretation is not able to determine whether political advocacy works for the benefit of the community or is in the public interest," NCWNZ national president Elizabeth Bang said.

"Yes, the commission needs to consider the law, but it should also have an assessment team which can provide some analysis of the value of the work done and who has benefited from it."

The council was partially funded under a government contract to provide advocacy and representation for women's interests, which included political lobbying.

Its other funding came from philanthropic bodies.

Community and Voluntary Sector Minister Tariana Turia was unavailable for comment.

- NZPA