Greenpeace has won an eight-year court battle to be registered as a charity and be exempt from income tax.
File image. Photo: Greenpeace New Zealand
The High Court has ruled that the Charities Registration Board was wrong to refuse to register the group because it had a political purpose and advocated for nuclear disarmament.
The court says that does not disqualify it from being a charity and Greenpeace's advocacy for the environment is a public benefit.
The group's New Zealand executive director Russell Norman says the ruling is a significant victory for all environmental campaigners and shows that protest and public good go hand in hand.
The case has been to the High Court, the Court of Appeal, to the Supreme Court, back to the Charities Board and then to the High Court again.
