Goudie Sandra: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Goudie Sandra: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:646;Page:15722] 
12.  
SANDRA GOUDIE (National—Coromandel) 
 to the  
Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector 
: Is she satisfied with the Charities Commission’s process to register a charity; if so why? 
Hon RUTH DYSON (Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector) 
: 
 No. I have advised the chair of the Charities Commission that I expect to see a significant reduction in processing times from those currently being achieved and in the size of the backlog of applications. I expect all complete applications for registrations that are received by the commission on or before 30 June of this year to be processed by the end of the year and their charitable status to be backdated to 1 July. 
Sandra Goudie 
: Why had the Charities Commission registered only 2920 charities as at the end of February 2008—over 5000 applications are currently waiting to be registered—when it had expected to complete 25000 by now and does that not prove that progress to date is woefully inadequate? 
Hon RUTH DYSON 
: I completely agree and that is why I answered the primary question in the way I did. I am satisfied that measures are in place to improve the performance and the member can have my assurance that they are being very closely monitored. 
Sandra Goudie 
: How can the Minister guarantee the tax-exempt status of the more than 5000 applications currently waiting to be registered when the registration process is reported to take around 140 days; and what will she do to ensure that legitimate not-for-profit charities are not suddenly landed with a tax bill? 
Hon RUTH DYSON 
: I have two points in answer to the member’s question. First her estimation of the processing time is a little exaggerated but I still share the primary concern that she has expressed in her question and I give this House an assurance that any applications that are received prior to 30 June of this year will be processed by the end of the year—that is my expectation—and second that the charitable status of those organisations will be backdated to 1 July. 
Sandra Goudie 
: Is the process taking so long because the Charities Commission is spending so much time “weeding out” groups that use their tax-free funds for what the Minister wants to stop—that is supposed political lobbying? 
Hon RUTH DYSON 
: No that is incorrect. My understanding is that very few organisations have become embroiled in the dispute about what their primary purpose is and what role advocacy plays in their activity. The legislation and I personally strongly support the right of organisations to be both charitable and have advocacy functions but advocacy cannot be their primary purpose; it can be only part of their activity to back up their primary purpose which is to be charitable. 
Russell Fairbrother 
: Why is the Government establishing a Charities Register? 
Hon RUTH DYSON 
: Having a Charities Register is an important step towards protecting the reputation of charities and bolstering public trust. A Charities Register will provide consistent and detailed information about registered charities and the way they use resources. Members of the public will be able to search for information held on the register—for example the name and address of a particular registered charity. 
Sandra Goudie 
: How long will it take to register all of the applications if the estimated 25000-plus charities apply for registration and does she believe that as one accountant calculated with 41.2 applications being processed a week it will take four decades? 
Hon RUTH DYSON 
: It is my expectation that all applications received prior to the end of June will be processed by the end of the year and those organisations will have their charitable status backdated to 1 July.