Health and non-profit: In conversation with Kate Russell, chief executive of Canterbury Medical Research Foundation and commercial director of NZ Brain Research Institute

"Certainly not. Over 27,000 charities for a country our size, doesn't make any sense. Duplication and proliferation are the two major issues here. Firstly, we have to understand and acknowledge that a lot many charitable trusts are formed for tax avoidance purposes. The problem is once a charity passes the public benefit test in New Zealand, it doesn't have to pay any taxes. This is absurd. We need to change that. A charity should be able to accept donations and people who donate get tax reliefs. But the charity itself is not tax exempt. We need to divorce these two things."

Health and WellnessGauravMay 3, 2017Comment

Women: Awareness is needed to tackle domestic violence in the South Asian community in Christchurch - Sahaayta

The monthly meeting of a recently-launched coffee club to deliberate ideas for women empowerment among the South Asian community in the South Island has highlighted the need for generating awareness against domestic violence across the region. An initiative of Christchurch-based Indian Cultural Group and Auckland-based community organisation based in Manukau, Sahaayta, the meeting also had women speakers to talk about women issues. While Dr Ruchika Sachdev, a dentist, shared how she frequently encounters women suffering from domestic violence as part of her everyday practice; Jane Song from the Canterbury Migrants Centre shared insights on how vulnerable migrant women are in New Zealand without any family and peer support.

Health and WellnessGauravApril 5, 2017Comment

Pegasus should and will do more to engage with culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities: Vince Barry, CEO

The message at Pegasus Health's Annual General Meeting held last week was loud and clear. Vince Barry, Chief Executive of the charitable organisation noted, “We should and will do more to engage with CALD communities. There is a role for us to generate awareness about various health issues among the communities.”