Minister refuses to engage in debate

Housing Minister Phil Heatley will not be enter into debate about whether the Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust should be stripped of its charitable trust status.

A prompt for ministerial input was provided by Labour Housing spokesperson Moana Mackey last week. "The trust has been stripped of its charitable status," she said.

"If Phil Heatley wants community housing to grow, then he must act quickly. If the Minister fails to act then the trust will inevitably be able to provide fewer homes."

Mr Heatley yesterday said because the Charities Commission was an independent crown entity it was not in his power to reverse its decision.

However, he was committed to the growth of providers of affordable housing, and had requested a review of the Charities Act expected to be completed in 2015 be brought forward, he said..

Trust chairman David Cole yesterday said the trust would be de-registered from next Wednesday because it was deemed not to meet charitable trust registration guidelines.

The trust will loose its charitable purposes income tax exemption status as a result of de-registration.

This means proceeds from a house sold under its shared ownership programme will be taxed at 33c per dollar before being invested into another shared ownership house.

"If it wasn't so serious, it would be farcical, because the government was involved in our inception, and provided $100,000 towards creating our legal framework and deed of trust," Mr Cole said.

"Now another arm of government is stripping us of a crucial factor that allowed us to be successful."

Community Housing Aotearoa executive officer David McCartney yesterday said the trust had been a leader in community housing.

"They've been ahead of the curve for quite a few years, and other trusts are just starting to catch up," he said.

"In high cost housing areas like some parts of Auckland, and Tauranga, they have provided a real blueprint for success."

The Charities Commission de-registration decision states the review of the trust's eligibility was sparked by information received from another applicant "with similar purposes to the Trust".

"That information led to a decision ... to review the trusts eligibility ..." the decision states.

It was disappointing no-one from the commission had even been to Queenstown to see what the trust had achieved, or what it was doing in the community, Mr Cole said.

The trust would continue as an independent non-profit organisation, but there would be impact, Mr Cole said.

"Our ability to use community capital to help families in the area will now be severely hampered because it will attract income tax."

DID YOU KNOW?

The Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust was incorporated under the Charitable Trusts Act on July 12, 2007.

It has provided 32 affordable homes under a shared ownership programme.

On December 15, 2009 the Charities Commission sent a notice of intention to de-register the trust, on the basis that the purposes of the trust set out in a single clause of its deed "were not charitable".

On April 27 the trust objected to the de-registration saying it would "not be in the public interest".

- © Fairfax NZ News