Gloriavale's Christian Church Community Trust loses charity status

Gloriavale's Christian Church Community Trust has lost its charitable status.The Charities Registration Board's decision to remove the trust from the Charities Register follows an investigation by the Department of Internal Affairs.The trust's deregistration takes effect on Wednesday.The department said the decision drew heavily on findings from Employment Court that found nine former members were employees, rather than community volunteers, as well as the Teachers Disciplinary Tribunal.The findings described the use of child labour from the age of six in trust-owned businesses and work carried out in harsh and at times dangerous conditions.The department said they also included failures to protect children and workers from harm, and the internal handling and non-reporting of sexual offending against a child at a trust-owned school.More to come...