Charity watchdog finds 'insufficient evidence' to investigate Destiny Church

Tuesday, 20 December 2016

Brian Tamaki suggested during a sermon that 'certain human sin' was to blame for natural disasters.

The charity watchdog has cleared Destiny Church of any wrongdoing, a month after a petition called for the religious group to be stripped of its charitable status.

However United Future leader Peter Dunne is standing by his earlier suggestions that Destiny should not be considered a charity.

Internal Affairs Minister Peter Dunne believes Destiny should be stripped of charitable status.

Charities Services investigated Destiny following a complaint over Bishop Brian Tamaki's controversial quake comments.

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Hannah Tamaki (C) met with Rainbow Youth in December to discuss Destiny's stance on gay rights.

*** Destiny Church's Hannah Tamaki meets with Rainbow Youth

* Stan Walker headlines Destiny Church event with Brian Tamaki

* Outrage at Brian Tamaki's earthquake comments prompt Destiny Church protest

* Human rights complaints lodged against Brian Tamaki

* Donations pour in to RainbowYouth - care of Brian Tamaki**

Tamaki suggested on November 13 that 'certain human sin' was to blame for natural disasters, in a sermon he delivered the day before a devastating 7.8 magnitude quake hit Kaikoura.

His remarks were widely criticised as being homophobic, given his reference to a chapter of the bible which condemns homosexuality.

Auckland man Aaron Smithson started a petition to strip Destiny of charity status in response, which was signed by nearly 125,000 people.

'I call upon John Key and the New Zealand Government to classify Destiny Church as a hate group and strip them of their tax-free status,' Smithson wrote on the petition.

Dunne waded into the debate on November 17 with a post on Twitter.

'I do not favour taxing genuine churches & real charities, but as Destiny is obviously neither it should pay taxes like every other business,' he wrote.

'Destiny is a personality cult - not a church. Promoting its leader (almost like Kim Jong Un) is hardly a theology.'

Charities Services took a different view, finding no reason to review Destiny's status as a charity.

'Any assessment found that there was insufficient evidence to warrant opening an investigation or review,' the watchdog said in a statement.

That's not enough to persuade the United Future leader.

'Their decision does not change the view I expressed earlier about the status of Destiny Church,' Dunne said.

I do not favour taxing genuine churches & real charities, but as Destiny is obviously neither it should pay taxes like every other business

— Peter Dunne (@PeterDunneMP) November 17, 2016

@patrick478 Destiny is a personality cult - not a church. Promoting its leader (almost like Kim Jong Un) is hardly a theology

— Peter Dunne (@PeterDunneMP) November 17, 2016

Deregistering a charity is a lengthy process, and if Smithson's petition went before parliament it would need to be considered by a select committee before any recommendation was made.

Tamaki's wife Hannah Tamaki has since said his sermon was misinterpreted, and wasn't just aimed at gay people.

Rather, she said it was aimed at Christians who only went to church on Sunday, and did what they liked for the rest of the week.

Destiny declined to comment on the Charities Services decision.

An earlier version of this story stated the Internal Affairs Minister is responsible for the registration of charities. It is actually overseen by the Minister for Community and Voluntary Sector.