Sports clubs to be given clarity

A review of the Charities Act will clear up when sport can mean charity, says National.

Minister of Internal Affairs Nathan Guy and Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector Tariana Turia said in a joint statement that the review would consider if it was necessary to clarify the circumstances in which "sports purposes" were "charitable" purposes.

It comes after the Department of Internal Affairs warned amateur sports clubs that they may not qualify for charity grants from pokies funding after a court case confirmed that the promotion of horse racing was not a charitable purpose.

The judgment in a case last year involving the Travis Trust and the Charities Commission also referred to "amateur sport not being a charitable purpose in and of itself".

Some sports clubs told the Weekend Herald last Saturday that they were worried about their survival and some had already had their funding rejected.

Mr Guy moved to reassure most sports clubs that they would continue to get funding from gaming societies.

Gaming machine societies set up to support charitable purposes could still give money to sport as long as that sporting activity was being used to achieve a charitable purpose, for example, promoting health, fitness, education, or physical or social wellbeing through sport, he said.

Internal Affairs wrote to 33 societies warning them that amateur sport may not qualify as a charitable purpose.

Keith Manch, the deputy secretary of the Department of Internal Affairs said yesterday that most of the organisations the department had written to had responded saying they would continue their funding. About a third had resolved their issues. Others were still considering legal advice and their options. Seven societies had not responded and would be followed up.

Mr Manch said there had never been doubt that gambling money could go to amateur sport where a gaming machine society was permitted to do so under its deed or constitution.

But there had been confusion over whether gaming machine societies with charitable obligations could also give money to amateur sport.

Labour's spokesman for Internal Affairs and Sport and Recreation, Chris Hipkins, said it was appropriate to give profits from gaming machines to grassroots sports clubs.

"The amateur sports clubs are the good guys here and there's a concern they will be punished if the dodgy clubs are," he said.