Family First will immediately instruct its legal team to vigorously fight any attempts to deregister it said its spokesperson Bob McCoskrie.
The group first heard of another move to of deregister it through a report in the New Zealand Herald.
When asked by Family First, the Charities Registration Board said it would neither confirm nor deny the report.
The New Zealand Herald also reported that a Department of Internal Affairs spokesperson said the department couldn’t confirm or deny any decision to deregister before speaking with Family First.
“We can’t make any comment while this process is underway but a final decision will be made by the independent Charities Registration Board.”
The spokesperson said Family First would remain a registered charity while any court action was underway.
“The Charities Board may hope that Family First will fold its tent and quietly retreat. We won’t be,” said McCoskrie.
The group was first notified by the Charities Registration Board in 2013 that its charitable status was in danger.
That was because the group advocated a controversial point of view, that was seen as lobbying for a political purpose.
The decision was challenged in court, and in 2015 the High Court ordered the Board to reconsider its decision.
The High Court decision in 2015 said “….Members of the Charities Board may personally disagree with the views of Family First, but at the same time recognise there is a legitimate analogy between its role and those organisations that have been recognised as charities.”
McCoskrie said Family First has also passed two ‘audits’ – one as recently as 2010. – and has made no change to the nature of their operations over the eleven years of its existence.
Official documents received by Family First NZ show that just one complaint was made against Family First and was lodged on the day that the organisation presented a petition to Parliament on behalf of almost 50,000 New Zealanders calling on politicians to reject the bill to redefine marriage.
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