In a bid to be seen as a safe and welcoming employer, organisations have signed on for workshops run by non-profits that offer a tick or accreditation.
For an initial cost followed by an annual renewal fee, an organisation can earn a rainbow tick, gender tick, cultural intelligence tick, wellbeing tick, health tick, accessibility tick, domestic violence free tick, the pride pledge and/or a brain badge. Some charities do not offer ticks but promise accreditation in the diversity, equality and inclusion space,
For an initial cost followed by an annual renewal fee, an organisation can earn a rainbow tick, gender tick, cultural intelligence tick, wellbeing tick, health tick, accessibility tick, domestic violence free tick, the pride pledge and/or a brain badge. Some charities do not offer ticks but promise accreditation in the diversity, equality and inclusion space,
The charity industrial complex in this country is thriving.
New Zealand has over 28,000 registered charities. Some like the Superdiversity Institute (offering a cultural intelligence tick), are so new they have yet to file returns to the charities commission. Other diversity charities like Gender Minorities Aotearoa started recently (2020), while a few like Diversity Works, have been operating for more than a decade.
Some earn in the tens of thousands while others earn hundreds of thousands or even millions. In the last financial year Diversity Works (DW), formerly The Equal Employment Opportunities Trust, had a total annual income of over $2m earned through donations, fund-raising and the like and over $700k providing services. Coca Cola, Internal Affairs, the Public Services Commission and Te Puni Kokiri have been through a DW programme.
Their fees are advertised as $2400 for evaluation which includes an evidence assessment, a practical assessment and an interview. Annual professional registration is $275.
The sexuality and gender space is represented by many groups. Not all offer ticks or accreditation. Some offer membership or simply education. Most promote the unscientific falsehoods inherent in gender ideology such as sex is mutable and there are more than two sexes. In other words, transwomen are women.
This unscientific advice doesn’t come cheap. InsideOut, a national charity representing the rainbow community, runs courses at $750 an hour plus GST for government agencies or corporates: $350 an hour plus GST for NGOS. Ten years ago InsideOut had a total income of just over $7000. Their latest accounts show an income of $1.18m.
Rainbow Youth (RY) has an income of $1.9m. Funding comes from services rendered to organisations, trust grants and central and local governments. Central government paid RY over $500,000 for the year ended 2022; local government’s contribution was over $200,000. Other grants total over $400,000. RY run workshops at a cost of $2000 - $2500 plus gst on gender and sexuality
Rainbow Tick (RT) is probably the most well-known of the rainbow accrediting organisations. Over 100 organisations have the RT certification, organisations as diverse as Auckland Grammar, Ministry for the Environment, MinterEllisonRuddWatts, the New Zealand Intelligence Community, the New Zealand Rugby Union and Z Energy.
RT now belongs to Kāhui Tū Kaha, a Ngāti Whātua owned not-for-profit. In the last financial year Kāhui Tū Kaha earned over $82m.
The New Zealand Defence Force has held RT accreditation since 2019 For the 2018/19 financial year, the programme fee was
$10,000. Subsequently, the fee has been $12,000 per annum and has been paid to 30 June 2023.
The costs of an RT programme were queried as early as 2014 when the charity started. An article in gay publication express (SUBS: lower case intentional) said they had been contacted by someone working in a “notable institution” who was quoted $20,000 for the entire package for a five year period if paid in full or $5000 per year for a five year period.
The ideology promoted by these gender and sexuality education organisations has been rejected by most New Zealanders. Polls showed that a majority of respondents did not support the introduction of sex self-ID in law. Most of the submissions to the select committee were also against the law change.
As well, a September 2023 Curia poll showed that over 70 per cent of New Zealanders did not believe primary children should be taught gender ideology. Over half supported a ban on gender affirming treatment for under 18s.
Their views mirror overseas trends. Resistance is building against the automatic affirmation of gender dysphoria for afflicted young people. The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) became the first medical body in the country to acknowledge shifting international evidence on transgender healthcare and puberty blockers. The college declined to endorse gender-affirming care as the key intervention for gender dysphoric children, It acknowledged the plight of detransitioners, who it noted had reported being harmed by medical transition.
The college has also issued an unambiguous statement defining sex as a biological characteristic – a statement in opposition to the notion put forward by trans activists that sex is a concept related to identity rather than a binary state.
Rainbow Tick is firmly embedded in the gender camp. As such, membership can have a chilling effect on alternative standpoints.
Readers may remember that one of the qualms an Auckland museum staff member raised about hosting the Fantastic Beasts show was that it might have an impact on the museum’s Rainbow Tick. (The Spinoff, Dec 13, 2023) The museum eventually opted for not hosting a show that would have been immensely popular and earned it considerable income.
The concerned staff member may have remembered the Rainbow Tick statement on their website, which could be regarded as a veiled threat. “An organisation that is seen to be discriminatory or insensitive in this area can expect fast, negative and often costly consequences.”
Readers may also recall that earlier last year two radio hosts were censured and required to undergo training after objecting to various tenets of gender ideology such as requiring correct pronouns in communication or referring to pregnant women as pregnant people. Twenty-four hours later the hosts offered abject apologies and were supposed to undergo Rainbow Tick training. The closure of the station soon after may have rendered this unnecessary.
Charities that promote propaganda can be deregistered. The promotion of propaganda was behind the deregistering of Family First, a conservative family advocacy group. Brian Tamaki’s Destiny Church was removed from the register for failing to file returns.
Business is a key activity for many charities. A 2018 report on the sector from Inland Revenue and the Treasury estimated that about 30 percent of registered charities may be involved in some sort of trading activity. The report noted that an increasing amount of business income was moving into the tax-exempt charity sector and a growing number of start-up businesses were registering as charities and seeking donations.
The free-wheeling nature of the New Zealand charity sector is not mirrored overseas. Adjunct Fellow, Department of Accounting & Information Systems University of Canterbury, Dr Michael Gousmett says "the sorts of things that happen in the commercial sector regarding charities in New Zealand would not be permitted in the United Kingdom."
For instance Waikato Tainui who own Waikato Raupatu Lands Trust and Group, have assets valued at over $2b and own 45 limited companies, none paying tax. That's fine if their businesses are related to the purpose of the charity but if it’s not, it is unfair to those who do pay. He cites the purchase of a new hotel at Auckland airport as an example. They are part-owners of the five-star, nine-level hotel with Auckland Airport. While other hotel operators are obliged to pay tax, they do not have to.
However the regulator in the charities arena, Charity Services (part of Internal affairs) is not proactive. It only steps in following a complaint.
Gousmett says churches are among the charitable institutions doing well in this climate. In the last two years mainstream churches increased their cash reserves by $249m. That does not include land and investments.
Yvonne van Dongen is a journalist, travel writer, playwright and non-fiction author. This article was originally published by ThePlatform.kiwi and is published here with kind permission.
New Zealand has over 28,000 registered charities. Some like the Superdiversity Institute (offering a cultural intelligence tick), are so new they have yet to file returns to the charities commission. Other diversity charities like Gender Minorities Aotearoa started recently (2020), while a few like Diversity Works, have been operating for more than a decade.
Some earn in the tens of thousands while others earn hundreds of thousands or even millions. In the last financial year Diversity Works (DW), formerly The Equal Employment Opportunities Trust, had a total annual income of over $2m earned through donations, fund-raising and the like and over $700k providing services. Coca Cola, Internal Affairs, the Public Services Commission and Te Puni Kokiri have been through a DW programme.
Their fees are advertised as $2400 for evaluation which includes an evidence assessment, a practical assessment and an interview. Annual professional registration is $275.
The sexuality and gender space is represented by many groups. Not all offer ticks or accreditation. Some offer membership or simply education. Most promote the unscientific falsehoods inherent in gender ideology such as sex is mutable and there are more than two sexes. In other words, transwomen are women.
This unscientific advice doesn’t come cheap. InsideOut, a national charity representing the rainbow community, runs courses at $750 an hour plus GST for government agencies or corporates: $350 an hour plus GST for NGOS. Ten years ago InsideOut had a total income of just over $7000. Their latest accounts show an income of $1.18m.
Rainbow Youth (RY) has an income of $1.9m. Funding comes from services rendered to organisations, trust grants and central and local governments. Central government paid RY over $500,000 for the year ended 2022; local government’s contribution was over $200,000. Other grants total over $400,000. RY run workshops at a cost of $2000 - $2500 plus gst on gender and sexuality
Rainbow Tick (RT) is probably the most well-known of the rainbow accrediting organisations. Over 100 organisations have the RT certification, organisations as diverse as Auckland Grammar, Ministry for the Environment, MinterEllisonRuddWatts, the New Zealand Intelligence Community, the New Zealand Rugby Union and Z Energy.
RT now belongs to Kāhui Tū Kaha, a Ngāti Whātua owned not-for-profit. In the last financial year Kāhui Tū Kaha earned over $82m.
The New Zealand Defence Force has held RT accreditation since 2019 For the 2018/19 financial year, the programme fee was
$10,000. Subsequently, the fee has been $12,000 per annum and has been paid to 30 June 2023.
The costs of an RT programme were queried as early as 2014 when the charity started. An article in gay publication express (SUBS: lower case intentional) said they had been contacted by someone working in a “notable institution” who was quoted $20,000 for the entire package for a five year period if paid in full or $5000 per year for a five year period.
The ideology promoted by these gender and sexuality education organisations has been rejected by most New Zealanders. Polls showed that a majority of respondents did not support the introduction of sex self-ID in law. Most of the submissions to the select committee were also against the law change.
As well, a September 2023 Curia poll showed that over 70 per cent of New Zealanders did not believe primary children should be taught gender ideology. Over half supported a ban on gender affirming treatment for under 18s.
Their views mirror overseas trends. Resistance is building against the automatic affirmation of gender dysphoria for afflicted young people. The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) became the first medical body in the country to acknowledge shifting international evidence on transgender healthcare and puberty blockers. The college declined to endorse gender-affirming care as the key intervention for gender dysphoric children, It acknowledged the plight of detransitioners, who it noted had reported being harmed by medical transition.
The college has also issued an unambiguous statement defining sex as a biological characteristic – a statement in opposition to the notion put forward by trans activists that sex is a concept related to identity rather than a binary state.
Rainbow Tick is firmly embedded in the gender camp. As such, membership can have a chilling effect on alternative standpoints.
Readers may remember that one of the qualms an Auckland museum staff member raised about hosting the Fantastic Beasts show was that it might have an impact on the museum’s Rainbow Tick. (The Spinoff, Dec 13, 2023) The museum eventually opted for not hosting a show that would have been immensely popular and earned it considerable income.
The concerned staff member may have remembered the Rainbow Tick statement on their website, which could be regarded as a veiled threat. “An organisation that is seen to be discriminatory or insensitive in this area can expect fast, negative and often costly consequences.”
Readers may also recall that earlier last year two radio hosts were censured and required to undergo training after objecting to various tenets of gender ideology such as requiring correct pronouns in communication or referring to pregnant women as pregnant people. Twenty-four hours later the hosts offered abject apologies and were supposed to undergo Rainbow Tick training. The closure of the station soon after may have rendered this unnecessary.
Charities that promote propaganda can be deregistered. The promotion of propaganda was behind the deregistering of Family First, a conservative family advocacy group. Brian Tamaki’s Destiny Church was removed from the register for failing to file returns.
Business is a key activity for many charities. A 2018 report on the sector from Inland Revenue and the Treasury estimated that about 30 percent of registered charities may be involved in some sort of trading activity. The report noted that an increasing amount of business income was moving into the tax-exempt charity sector and a growing number of start-up businesses were registering as charities and seeking donations.
The free-wheeling nature of the New Zealand charity sector is not mirrored overseas. Adjunct Fellow, Department of Accounting & Information Systems University of Canterbury, Dr Michael Gousmett says "the sorts of things that happen in the commercial sector regarding charities in New Zealand would not be permitted in the United Kingdom."
For instance Waikato Tainui who own Waikato Raupatu Lands Trust and Group, have assets valued at over $2b and own 45 limited companies, none paying tax. That's fine if their businesses are related to the purpose of the charity but if it’s not, it is unfair to those who do pay. He cites the purchase of a new hotel at Auckland airport as an example. They are part-owners of the five-star, nine-level hotel with Auckland Airport. While other hotel operators are obliged to pay tax, they do not have to.
However the regulator in the charities arena, Charity Services (part of Internal affairs) is not proactive. It only steps in following a complaint.
Gousmett says churches are among the charitable institutions doing well in this climate. In the last two years mainstream churches increased their cash reserves by $249m. That does not include land and investments.
Yvonne van Dongen is a journalist, travel writer, playwright and non-fiction author. This article was originally published by ThePlatform.kiwi and is published here with kind permission.
8 comments:
NZ's growth industry. Eye opening.
If Rainbow Tick is owned by an Ngati Kahui off shoot then income from Government departments should be taxed. A true donation is from a person who wishes to remain annoymous and donates from the goodness of their heart .
A manager of a Government entity or Public corporate or Council entity are NOT donations . They are nothing other than executives frittering away ratepayers tax paid rates and IRD customers weekly or annual tax to an entity who claim they are above the rest of us who pay tax by compulsion.
The time for a deal for 2024 in a divided by ethnicity New Zealand is NOW , forgo your maori electorates or lose your maori charity status.
Under the last govt vast amounts of our hard-earned tax revenue was wasted - may as well have poured it down the drain. Now it seems similarly vast amounts of tax that should legitimately be due have been slipping through so-called “charity” cracks as wide as chasms. Meantime the Greens want wealth taxes and Labour’s David Parker would dearly love to be able to introduce them - i.e. they all want more, more, more taxes from the mugs who cough up. The hard-working “squeezed middle” (and higher) are being played. It’s enough to make me resent paying the rates and taxes I’ve hitherto seen as a duty of citizenship and a fair contribution to support the society and country to which I was born. Great article Yvonne - this is a serious issue. Our new govt needs to follow the money and change the rules. Time for equal rights and duties.
If you are a limited liability company or entity making income from the transaction of goods and services, i.e. anything other than receiving donations or the on-sale of donated or personally manufactured products (i.e. for a publicly transparent and recognised charitable cause, like IHC which is non-discriminatory and can impact anyone but not, say a commercial closed-shop enterprise like Sanitarium), then you should be paying tax on the income received. Otherwise, it surely isn't a level playing field and the ultimate outcome will result in corrupted markets, societal breakdown and revolt.
Way too many Maori corporations and other entities are having a free ride at the general taxpayers’ expense. Likewise on the rating front, there should be comparatively few that qualify for a free lunch and certainly not the likes of religious entities.
These organisations are 'ticks' as in the parasitical kind.
However the regulator in the charities arena, Charity Services (part of Internal affairs) is not proactive. It only steps in following a complaint.
Well we should flood this useless outfit with thousands of 'complaints' about this GRIFT masquerading as 'charity' that they oversee with eyes wide shut, and also CC it to our useless Government that has allowed it to grow into "A Charity Industrial Complex".
Thank you for this expose Yvonne - literally, in my case- nauseating! Reading carefully though, it seems that most of us remain sane. It is the daft charity/tax legislation that has to change. Do we think we can count on brave, clear-sighted David Seymour to address this in the new term?
I presume the majority of these non-profits' clients will be government and public agencies. I expect the axe will fall when David fully gets his feet under the table.
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