ANGOA Roundtable Newsletter
Next Roundtable: Thursday 13 October, 10am to 12.00
Venue: The Tui Room, Platform, Level 3, 147 Tory St, Te Aro, Wellington
Kia ora koutou katoa, nga mihi nui kia koe – Greetings - All are Welcome. Feel free to forward
this
invitation, and the newsletter, to others who may be interested. ANGOA disseminates this information
as part of its work to strengthen the Tangata Whenua Community and Voluntary Sector in Aotearoa New
Zealand.
Any enquiries, to be added to the Roundtable mail list, or to be removed from it, please contact ANGOA
Coordinator: dave.henderson@angoa.org.nz .
Whakaarohia a Papatūānuku i mua i te tānga mai i tēnei īmera.
Please consider the environment before printing this newsletter
Contents: In this Newsletter:
1. QUOTE OF THE MONTH
2. Agenda for the Roundtable 13 October 2011
3. ANGOA Membership and Information
4. Crown Entities Reform Bill – proposed absorption of Charities Commission into DIA
5. Proposals for a new Accounting Standards Framework
6. Review of the Incorporated Societies Act 1908
7. Possibilities for the New Zealand Constitution
8. Victory Village Forum
9. High Volunteerism Can Mean Lower Unemployment Rates, Study Says
10. HOW COMMUNITIES HEAL project – Recent Articles
11. Minister welcomes new Human Rights Commissioner
12. The Social Enterprise Journey: balancing social mission with making money
13. Upcoming ANGOA Forums and Meetings
1. Quote of the Month:
“I’m a Citizen – I have a right to participate!”
CIVICUS Secretary General Ingrid Srinath sums up the mixture of indignation, anger, frustration, strength and
vision that is at the heart of the civil society movement, plus of course the ‘Arab Spring’ and calls for greater
accountability, transparency and legitimacy on the part of governments everywhere.
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2. Agenda for the Roundtable 13 October 2011
2.1
Paul James, Deputy CEO responsible for Policy, Regulatory and Ethnic Affairs at the Department
of Internal Affairs.
Besides Ethnic Affairs, Paul already has the Office for the Community and Voluntary Sector in his Branch of the
Department, and if the Crown Entities Reform Bill gets through the next government (after the election) he will
also probably end up with the Charities Commission as well. At the Roundtable Paul will talk about how that
transition might happen (which has big implications for us) and the wider relationship between the Department
and the sector. (See item 4 in this newsletter)
Other policy and regulatory areas for Paul’s Branch include Local government and community policy; Gambling,
racing and censorship policy; Civil defence emergency management policy; Fire Services policy; Anti-Spam;
Censorship; and Money Laundering.
2.2
David Robinson, Social and Civic Policy Institute and ANGOA Coordinating Committee, and Dave
Henderson, ANGOA Coordinator.
David and Dave will report from the CIVICUS Assembly and Conference in Montreal, which included the annual
meeting of AGNA, the Affinity Group of National Associations (i.e. the one-per-country national umbrella groups
for the whole sector, like ANGOA) the Asian National Associations meeting, the CIVICUS Members meeting,
and very many plenary and streamed sessions.
2.3
Mike Nuth and Jordan Ericsson; New Zealand Red Cross
Jordan is the programmes coordinator for the NZRC Wellington service centre, and Mike is Research Advisor at
NZRC National Office. They will speak briefly about wanting to form partnerships with other community
organisations in the area to establish community projects that will provide volunteer opportunities for young
people.
2.4
Other Current Issues:
This is an opportunity for ANGOA member organisations, and others present, to make announcements, raise
issues of government policy, discuss legislation out for submissions, find collaborators, or just have your say!
3. ANGOA Membership and Information
ANGOA Information
ANGOA is an independent non-profit incorporated society, supported in part by an anonymous Family Trust. We
receive no funding from Government other than for specific projects, and we sincerely thank the Trust for the
independence it gives us. Contributions for specific projects have been received from the Ministry of Economic
Development and Lottery Grants Board. We are a member of CIVICUS, the world association for citizen
participation, and CIVICUS offshoot AGNA, the Affinity Group of National Associations.
ANGOA Membership – If you are an NGO you are Welcome to Join!
Subscriptions are an important component of support for ANGOA’s work, helping us remain independent of
Government. An Application and Renewal form can be requested from the Coordinator, or printed from the
website. Membership is open to any NGO supporting the objects of ANGOA and committed to paying the
subscription of $100 per year including GST. Additional donations are welcome.
Organisations and individuals who do not qualify as members but who support ANGOA’s aims are welcome to
make a donation, and may receive many of the materials ANGOA produces. We thank you warmly for your
support.
The Membership Form can be found at: http://www.angoa.org.nz/angoa_docs/membership_form.pdf
4. Crown Entities Reform Bill – proposed absorption of Charities Commission into DIA
State Services Minister Tony Ryall announced his introduction of this Bill into Parliament with a press statement
on 29 September - see http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1109/S00581/crown-entities-reform-bill-introduced.htm
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This week Parliament is expected to send it to Select committee for consideration. Minister Ryall’s reasons for
the changes to several government agencies in the Bill are entirely economic – he wants to reduce the number
of public servants and save money, so the plan is to have the changes in place by the start of the next financial
year – 1 July 2012. This means the timeline for submissions will be quite tight.
Many of the issues that ANGOA will raise in its submission are the same as we raised in the widely-supported
Position Paper in July – see http://www.angoa.org.nz/angoa/?&action=show_page&page=news/2011-07-08Position-re-Charities-Act-Review
Minister Ryall said in two letters to ANGOA that he was considering these issues, but they are not addressed at
all in the Cabinet papers that paved the way for this Bill. He seems to see it as a simple restructuring – not an
opportunity to address real issues that ANGOA members have been highlighting for the past 18 months.
So what is lost, if anything, in the proposals?
ANGOA’s big question is whether bureaucrats in the Department of Internal Affairs, advising a Board of 3
minister-appointed Commissioners, will be any better than what we have at present at understanding the
concerns that keep coming up? If these are not addressed, we will have a lost opportunity.
Mostly these concerns are around Advocacy, which is a natural part of the existence of so many organisations –
we see a situation that can be made better and we organise ourselves to address it. When the situation is being
caused or exacerbated by people in power such as government, or they have the means to fix it, we advocate to
those people in power. This is our right, in a democracy. The problem arises when the Charities Commission
interprets that advocacy as becoming one of our purposes as an organisation.
The actual Bill transfers, it appears, that all but two of the existing Commission's functions.
 The current section 10(1)(a) and (b) of the Charities Act are proposed to be moved to section 3 "Purpose of
the Act".
 The requirement to "consider" applications in current section 10(1)(e) has been removed and the DIA is
proposed to have to refer all applications and proposals for deregistration to the board for decision – see
proposed clause 10(d).
 Current section 10(1)(l) and also (n) have not made it into the Bill. This is a reflection of the fact that the DIA
is a government department and not an autonomous crown entity.
The most serious of these last two is 10(1)(l) which allows the current Commission to “consider, and report and
make recommendations on, any matter (for example, a proposed government policy) relating to charities(i) that is referred to it by any Minister of the Crown; or
(ii )on its own motion;"
If the current Commission were to want to review the definition of "charitable", or aspects of its interpretation, this
clause gave it that ability. For this reason the clause was widely supported by the sector when the Charities Act
2005 was being considered. We felt it was a good thing to have this independent, informed body empowered to
take a look at such issues. The loss of this function is a real loss of the potential role that the existing
Commission has had, as wise guardian and champion of the sector, regardless of whether the Commission had
yet taken on that role.
The Chief Executive of DIA, who under the new Bill will be responsible for most functions of the existing
Commission, will have the power under other existing legislation to raise such matters with their Minister. From a
sector perspective, whether there is more chance of that happening through DIA than through the existing
Commission is open to conjecture – it will come down to the sector’s relationship with the department.
ANGOA thanks Susan Barker of Chen Palmer Law and Iain Hines of JR McKenzie Trust for assistance in
developing these points.
5. Proposals for a new Accounting Standards Framework
Commerce Minister Hon Simon Power has announced proposals to simplify the financial reporting framework for
small and medium-sized businesses and registered charities.
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“The changes will strengthen the public’s confidence that the money they donate to charities is being used
effectively and efficiently. It will also clarify charities’ financial reporting obligations, particularly as many rely on
volunteers who are currently unsure about what they need to prepare” said the Minister.
Following this announcement, the External Reporting Board (XRB) (formerly the Accounting Standards Review
Board; ASRB) has released a Position Paper and two Consultation Papers outlining proposals for a new
Accounting Standards Framework for for-profit and public benefit entities.
The closing date for submissions on the Consultation Papers is 16 December 2011. Submissions should be
emailed to submissions@xrb.govt.nz
.
Commerce Minister’s press release: Simplified financial reporting proposed for SMEs, charities
The related Multi-Standards Position Paper is available here
Key Aspects of the XRB Proposals
The XRB's accounting standards framework documents take into account the Government's announcement. The
XRB's proposals include:
 A three tier structure for public benefit entities (which includes registered charities) with all entities with
expenses less than $2 million being in Tier 3 - this includes many small public sector entities as well as
the majority of registered charities;
 The establishment of a set of NZ PBE* standards based on International Public Sector Accounting
Standards modified as appropriate for New Zealand circumstances and also for application by not-forprofit entities;
 The use of a simple format reporting approach for tier 3 entities.
 New Zealand Public Benefit Entity
The XRB's Consultation Papers propose that the new for-profit framework be in place in time for it to be early
adopted from 1 July 2012, the PBE framework so far as it applies to public sector entities be effective for
financial years beginning on or after 1 July 2013, and the PBE framework for not-for-profit entities be effective for
financial years beginning on or after 1 July 2014 (with early adoption allowed). These dates are dependent on
the results of the consultation process, and when the legislative changes needed to give effect to the
Government's announcement are enacted and come into force.
The detailed proposals for each tier are contained in the relevant Consultation Paper:
Accounting Standards Framework for General Purpose Financial Reporting by Public Benefit Entities.
The XRB plans to run seminars in Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington and Christchurch in early November 2011 to
outline its proposals and discuss them with interested parties from all sectors. Arrangements for these seminars
will be posted on the XRB website in due course.
ANGOA has made a funded agreement with Ministry of Economic Development to organise consultation
sessions on these documents with local organisations in Auckland, Hamilton, Gisborne, Wellington and
Christchurch. We will be seeking host organisations to assist with these – if you are interested please contact the
ANGOA coordinator – dave.henderson@angoa.org.nz
6. Review of the Incorporated Societies Act 1908
The closing date for Submissions has been extended from end September to end October, so you can still make
input to Geoff McLay, Commissioner, at incsocs@lawcom.govt.nz
An active discussion has been happening within ANGOA, noting to apparent bifurcation that is happening in the
sector internationally. At the recent CIVICUS conference a report was launched that identified a growing
"dissociation" between Civil Society Organisations (CSOs, although a term more frequently used in New Zealand
is often NGOs) and citizens generally. This was based on a review of the Civil Society Index data from 29
countries, 2008-2011. The CIVICUS report says;
Civil society is undergoing its most significant crisis and change for a generation. Many established civil
society organisations (CSOs) are struggling under the weight of multiple economic and political
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challenges, but are also shown to be disconnected from many citizens, and particularly from new and
informal forms of participation and activism.
http://e2ma.net/go/7194184162/208664148/224582042/1408216/goto:http://civicus.org/news-andresources/602
This is disturbing for an organisation that has tended to regard CSOs as a proxy for citizens, but clearly from the
report citizens are not regarding big CSOs as representing their interests. People are finding their own ways to
communicate and support each other using less formal organisational means. This is facilitated by social media
and the wide availability of cellphones – witness the success of the Christchurch ‘Student Army’.
The introduction to the Law Commission’s Incorporated Societies Act review document states that the legislation
is deficient in addressing issues of "modern Governance structures" and issues relating to modern dispute
resolution". Whilst recognising the diversity of Not for Profit organisations the discussion at times sounds like a
concern to develop the structures with more emphasis on corporate governance model.
For example the review questions include one that asks whether the Companies Act obligations could be
included and then how these need to be altered. This is asked when a more general question would be
appropriate about
 what obligations need to be included for Incorporated Societies that are sensitive to the diversity of the those
organisations, and
 what obligations that reflect the diverse purposes for which not for profit and community organisations are
established.
The review is useful and has the potential to provide some useful guidelines for Not for Profit organisations,
although the overall concern of the review seems to be with Governance; a term that is derived from corporate
and management theory.
It is also concerned with issues of compliance, conflict resolution, and conflict of interest where there is some
emphasis on possible greater emphasis on legal options and processes which if put in place could have
negative consequences especially for access to redress.
The Law Commission also offer examples from jurisdictions in Canada and Australia which are offered as ways
in which the new Act could be developed. These examples are drawn from very large documents that require
some close analysis to make sense of and they are often referred to without any contextual considerations.
The Australian example is instructive: The Community Council for Australia (CCA) was formed in 2010 by a
group of charities to influence government regulation and funding of the Not-for-Profit (NFP) sector. The initiating
organisations were Hammond Care, Mission Australia, Philanthropy Australia, Social Ventures Australia, the
Benevolent Society, The Smith Family and World Vision Australia.
Such groupings obviously have value, no question, but the purposes do not seem to include supporting and
encouraging citizen participation, other than as volunteers in well-established structures, as donors, or as the
recipients of services funded by Government.
In looking at our own incorporated Societies legislation we have to make sure it supports not just large charities
with sophisticated governance structures, but also small community and whanau-based groups for whom those
structures are irrelevant, where governance is not separated from community, and where imposition of these
structures would be a disaster for communities’ strength and resilience.
All this is taking place in the context of a range of other reviews including the charities act and the reporting
framework. Government’s approach is piecemeal – it is up to us to keep the big picture.
Thanks to members of the ANGOA Coordinating Committee for comments included here. Further comments are
welcome, to dave.henderson@angoa.org.nz
7. Possibilities for the New Zealand Constitution
In a presentation to the AGNA Asian Regional Meeting at CIVICUS Conference Sixdon Macasaet of the
Philippines national association CODE-NGO included a summary of major laws on civil society organisations in
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the Philippines. New laws were put in place as part of a re-writing of the Constitution following the People Power
revolution that overthrew the Marcos regime.
This is in contrast to the vagueness of the commitments in New Zealand’s Kia Tutahi.
Although the structures for government and for delivery of services are very different, the Philippines response
has an interesting mix of high-level principles and practical assurances of participation. The laws reflect these
two levels;
1) 1987 (People Power) Constitution:
 the State shall encourage civil society organisations
 the State shall respect the role of civil society organisations to enable the people to pursue their
legitimate and collective interests
 the right of the people and their organizations to participate in decision making at all levels shall not
be abridged
2) Laws that Recognize CSOs and their Participation in Governance/ Decision Making


Local Government Code (1991): civil society organisation membership in Local Development
Council and Special Bodies (e.g. Local School Boards, Local Health Boards, etc)
Social Reform and Poverty Alleviation Act (1997): civil society organisations participate in 14 basic
sectoral councils/ National Anti-Poverty Council.
8. Victory Village Forum
Download Report ( PDF 3.46 MB)
More than 250 delegates attended a Victory Village Forum in Nelson, July 27–29, 2011. The forum aimed to
showcase the Victory Community — ‘Kiwibank New Zealand Community of the Year’ in 2010 — and share
information about family-centred, community-led development.
The three-day forum, organised by Victory Village, Inspiring Communities and the Families Commission, was
fully subscribed – underscoring an interest in New Zealand in thinking differently about how we work within and
across communities, and promote family-centred, community-led ways of working. This new way of working
requires thinking about what is best for families, and allowing communities to lead the changes they want to see.
The forum received widespread interest and the more than 250 delegates came from central and local
government, iwi, community organisations, social service providers, education and health sectors, business and
funding agencies. The diverse mix of people represented the individuals, groups, agencies and organisations
working at all levels of family-centred, community-led development.
9. High Volunteerism Can Mean Lower Unemployment Rates, Study Says
US States in which a big share of people volunteer, vote, and participate in other civic events tended to suffer
the least-drastic increases in joblessness during the downturn, according to a new report.
The study, by the National Conference on Citizenship and others, mined federal labour statistics and Census
data from about 50,000 American households. It found that states that did well based on five measures—helping
neighbours, volunteering, registering to vote, voting, and attending meetings—in 2006 did not face big rises in
unemployment from 2006 to 2010.
States in which a high proportion of people helped their neighbours did best, followed by those with strong
volunteering rates.
Alaska, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Vermont were among states with
the highest rates of volunteering and some of the smallest increases in unemployment from 2006 to 2010. On
the other end of the spectrum, the states with the lowest rates of volunteering and helping neighbours had the
highest rise in unemployment during that time: Alabama, California, Florida, Nevada, and Rhode Island.
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By Peter Bolton, from the Chronicle of Philanthropy, September 28 2011
http://philanthropy.com/article/High-Volunteerism-Can-Mean/129109/?sid=pt&utm_source=pt&utm_medium=en
10. HOW COMMUNITIES HEAL project – Recent Articles
The next article in this series ...
Kim Workman – “Rethinking Crime and Punishment”
can be read online at http://tinyurl.com/hchworkman
or download the PDF file (for printing) at http://tinyurl.com/HCH06PDF
Kim Workman is a retired public servant who is an active social entrepreneur on the issues of criminal justice
and prison reform. He has had a guiding hand in establishing the first kaupapa Maori-based prison units in the
country, and also the first faith-based prison unit in the British Commonwealth.
Workman has also created strategies for how communities can better support prisoners and their families, and
has introduced many innovations in the field of restorative justice. As a public advocate for reform, he has
encouraged many New Zealanders to completely rethink their attitudes towards crime and punishment.
The HOW COMMUNITIES HEAL project is being published in fortnightly instalments on the internet at
www.nzsef.org.nz/howcommunitiesheal. We encourage anyone to link with, share and further redistribute
these profiles and articles. Comments and conversations on this project are encouraged on our Facebook page
at www.facebook.com/howcommunitiesheal, and on Twitter at @HowCommHeal
The online publication of this project has been made possible by the Bishop’s Action Foundation.
11. CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation
CIVICUS Mission
CIVICUS is an international alliance dedicated to strengthening citizen action and civil society throughout the
world.
CIVICUS Vision
A worldwide community of informed, inspired, committed citizens engaged in confronting the challenges facing
humanity.
Trying to use a water pistol to stop a charging rhino
This week saw some of the world's largest and most powerful institutions host their annual meetings. At the
United Nations, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund global leaders conferred with each other
and with experts and representatives from academia, business, media and civil society on the critical economic,
social, political and ecological issues that loom ever larger.
You would imagine, given the urgency of the crises, that leaders would transcend short-term sectoral, national
and ideological boundaries to find solutions bold enough to make some dent in the problems that confront us.
What emerged was best described by Paul Krugman's words in a slightly different context: trying to use a water
pistol to stop a charging rhino.
As those charged with governing our planet continue to prioritise those "too big to fail" over those "too small to
count", the words of Laila Iskandar, Managing Director, Community and Institutional Development Group, Egypt,
at the IMF-World Bank-civil society town hall meeting offered a refreshing change of tone. I hope you will find
them as inspiring as I did. The video version is available here.
IMF-World Bank civil society town hall meeting
Remarks by Laila Iskandar, Chairperson, CID Consulting (a social enterprise in Cairo, Egypt), Board Chair, Spirit
of Youth NGO in Cairo (situated in the garbage collectors' neighbourhood of Manchiyet Nasser), and Member,
Global Recyclers without Borders Network
“From the global CSO community we bring you news of our work with millions of people on six continents. We
have tested innovative approaches such as mobile banking and others. We have documented best practice,
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shared it and been responsive to changing realities of real people in communities. We have professionalised our
practice, modernised our methods and transferred our know-how across boundaries and regions. We have
formed global coalitions, adopted a unified vision, agreed on and advocated on global issues”. Read more
Civil society involvement in ICANN: Strengthening future civil society influence in ICANN policymaking
Source: Association for Progressive Communications
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) occupies a unique role in that it manages a
global public resource (the Internet's domain name addressing space), but it shares this responsibility between
businesses, governments and civil society participants from many nations. It represents a unique blend of "multistakeholderism" governance. This paper investigates ICANN's processes, the role of civil society within decisionmaking and highlights lessons learned from this multi-stakeholderism experiment as well as recommendations
for future similar initiatives.
Read more
12. Minister welcomes new Human Rights Commissioner
On 26 September Minister for Disability Issues Tariana Turia welcomed Paul Gibson as the first Commissioner
appointed to the Human Rights Commission with a formal responsibility for disability issues/ disabled people.
This role sends a message that this Government is listening to disabled people and we're putting things in place
that are important to them and with a man like Paul leading the charge, we're on the right track" Mrs Turia said.
“Paul is a blind man who has been a staunch advocate for people living with disabilities. His previous experience
includes several senior positions in non-government organisations where he has built up experience in
leadership roles in disability policy, management and governance. "Paul's appointment is for 18 months but I'm
optimistic that legislation will be passed by the next Parliament to make the position a permanent full-time role.
ANGOA also welcomes this step forward and congratulates Paul, a former member of the ANGOA Coordinating
Committee.
13. The Social Enterprise Journey: balancing social mission with making money
Dates: 15 November (Wellington) and 22 (Auckland)
Trainer: Bice Awan (Skylight)
Venue: School of Public Health, Newtown (Wellington) and Mercy Spirituality Centre, Epsom (Auckland)
Price: $195 for not-for-profit organisations, $395 for public sector. Includes GST, lunch and tea.
Bice Awan (Chief Executive, Skylight) is passionate about the concept of social enterprise and is looking forward
to sharing ideas, stories and tips with organisations who are curious about the operating model. By operating as
a social enterprise, organisations can reduce their dependency on external funding.
The workshop will benefit those who are:
 Wanting to become more self-sufficient and are curious about the concept, but need more information to
gauge if the model is compatible with their organisation.
 Considering ways to broaden funding portfolios.
 Interested in developing their existing social enterprise initiatives.
 Eager to hear a discussion on social enterprise that is backed up by real life experience.
To find out more, download an information sheet and booking form from the Development Action homepage
(www.developmentaction.co.nz). Places are limited for this workshop, so we encourage you to book early.
Contact Lee Sentes (lee@developmentaction.co.nz) with any questions.
14. Upcoming ANGOA Forums and Meetings
Coordinating Committee
 13 October, 8 December; 12.20 pm after the Roundtable
Offers, suggestions or recommendations of presentations are welcome for any or all of the following events;
please contact the Coordinator dave.henderson@angoa.org.nz
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Sector Roundtable
 13 October, 10am to midday; The Tui Room, Platform, Level 3, 147 Tory St, Te Aro, Wellington
 Tuesday 8 November, ANGOA AGM beginning at 7.30am with a light breakfast; Quality Hotel, Upper Cuba
St, Te Aro, Wellington
 8 December, 10am to midday; The Tui Room, Platform, Level 3, 147 Tory St, Te Aro, Wellington
Wellington Research Forum:
 22 November, 1pm to 3pm
 Families Commission, 6th Floor, Public Trust Building, 117-125 Lambton Quay
Auckland Research Forum:
 In the week of 14 November, to be confirmed.
Christchurch Research Forum:
 Next date will be in 2012
 Note change of time – venue to be confirmed – contact Sharon Torstonson sharon@ccoss.org.nz
Dunedin Research Forums:
 Next date to be confirmed
 Venue: Alexander McMillan Room, DCOSS
Other important dates, events & conferences: View the events calendar on CommunityNet Aotearoa
Disclaimer
This newsletter is produced by ANGOA, the Association of NGOs of Aotearoa. All the information is intended to
assist readers to pursue in a non-partisan way an interest in matters relating to the tangata whenua, community
and voluntary sector in Aotearoa New Zealand. An effort is made within available resources to ensure accuracy
but no guarantee is given or implied. If you have contributions, comments or suggestions, please forward them
to dave.henderson@angoa.org.nz . We thank you warmly for your support, and hope to see you at these
forums!
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