Submissions

Select Committee Presentation-Charities bill     File SIS5/4

Charities Bill- Presented to the Social Services select committee Thursday 26 th August, 2004

Submitters heard were:

•  Philantrophic society

•  NZ Council of Social Services

•  Family Planning

•  NZFVW ( New Zealand Federation of Voluntary Workers)

•  Save the Children fund

•  Church Council

•  NZ Family Budgeting

•  Wellington People Centre

•  Cancer Society

•  NZ Radio for the Disabled

•  NCW (National Council of Women)

Transcripts of the individual presentations are in long hand on the File SIS5/4

Rural Women New Zealand Oral Submission

Executive Officer: Jo-Anne Stokes

Vice President: Margaret Chapman

Rural Women New Zealand is an advocate for Health, Education, Social and Land issues for rural communities. The definition of the term advocacy is demonstrated by the fact that without a charity such as RWNZ we would not have rapid numbers for emergency services to locate rural people, rural boarding bursaries, rural school buses etc. RWNZ has been a charity for 80 years reflecting the history charities have in the rural communities.

RWNZ has a charitable homecare role business through Access Homehealth that provides homecare predominantly in the rural section. Margaret Chapman will elaborate on how the homecare industry could do with advocacy from a Charities Commission

Charities are integral to rural communities since the centralisation of services in health education and social services have demonstrated. This is from volunteer fire Services through to social clubs.

Consultation on the Charities bill has not reached rural areas and it is noted that onerous compliance costs would endanger the existence of rural charities and the essential services and work that they achieve. In addition to putting off communities doing charitable work.

We concur with points 1-8 of the list of the most common issues raised by submitters. We note in point 5 the difficulty of getting trustees in the rural sector will be exasperated by a Charities Commission that can pay more than the average charity.

We also concur with the NZ Council of Social Services of the role of advocacy the Charities Commission should play distancing itself as a government agent.

We concur with Family Planning Council that a rational prototype for the Charities Commission would be that used by NZ AID and NGO's. This model would be appropriate due to fact the role is the same and the focus is on providing the service rather than monitoring or policing.

Policing for non-compliant charities is not the role that the charities that are compliant should be paying for.

We concur with the NZFVW that the Charities Commission meetings should be focussed regionally to make use of their expertise in rural areas.

We noted the cost to our organisation of complying with the Charities Bill and the costs associated of considerable restructuring would need to take place to mitigate the costs. Such costs would mitigate the focussing on the real issues of advocacy for rural communities.

Margaret outlined the issues in the homcare industry and re-iterated the role of advocacy. Briefed the select committee on the paystructure that affected the retaining of staff and the number of clients that were being declined due to lack of staff.

Questions

Dr Murial Newman asked ‘Do RWNZ agree with this bill ?'

Answer: Our members do not agree with any bill that proposes a policing and monitoring effect on charities.

Dr Newman: Is AHH a tax-paying entity?

Answer: No it is not. AHH through RWNZ has 100% charitable function because no business would take on the rural homecare business due to lack of volume, the fact rural mileage is not reimbursed and payments of below the minimum wage do not attract scarce health staff. This is illustrated by the lack of rural health services provided by both government and private in rural communities.

Dr Linda Scott asked if another forum was available for such issues

Answer: it would be expected that a health forum is available but quoting from the Homeare Association ‘Everytime they raise the issue (in a health forum), they are told it is not the appropriate venue to raise such issues'. Homecare is an industry that is dominated by charities-in fact only one homecare provider has a profit motive.

Gordon ? commented that it was not envisaged that the compliance costs or compliance would require consolidation of accounts.

Answer: We do not consolidate accounts, as the cost would see us out the door. We comply with the Financial Reporting act; general accounting and auditing practices except that of consolidation. We would note that the cost to our organisation of the Charities Bill would be restructuring in accounting policies, constitution and may harm our ability to provide the services we provide to the rural sector.

Dr Murial Newman: Are your records public?

Answer: Yes we make returns as an incorporated society each year.

Thanked for contribution by select committee.

Left at 11.45am