NEW ZEALAND

The church of Scientology is a cult

Audio: Radio Skidrow invited Aaron Saxton onto the show for an eye-opening interview on his experiences in the Sea Organisation as a CMO officer (Radio Skidrow - November 23, 2009)

Council revokes rehab consent (wanganuichronicle.co.nz - 25.04.2008)

Scientologists snap up heritage home (nzherald.co.nz - 06 June 2007)

Council revokes rehab consent

www.wanganuichronicle.co.nz - 25.04.2008

[Texte intégral]

A PLANNED church-based rehabilitation centre in Papaiti Rd for male alcoholics and drug addicts no longer has resource consent.

Its consent was revoked this week after an investigation by a Wanganui District Council planning officers.

Councillor Ray Stevens said that, after a number of complaints from residents and members of the community, council planning officers had found that the original resource consent should not have been granted.

"It became clear to us that what had been written in the proposal and what the owners had been saying were two different things," Mr Stevens said.

"At this stage, I can't say whether, once the new proposal is looked at, the resource consent will be publicly notified. Unfortunately, if it is notified, it will cost the owners more to have it heard," he said.

Mr Vermuelen has been asked to submit a second application. Earlier, Mr Vermuelen had told the Wanganui Chronicle and his neighbours that the centre had been granted resource consent and it was all go.

His immediate neighbours on either side of the Papaiti Rd property, Leanne and Terry Cox and Roger and Charlene Miller, were all furious and horrified.

The two couples had said they were angry and upset because they had not been consulted and that they did not think it was safe to have an addiction centre in a area where there are so many young families. Both couples said they were worried about the safety of their young children.

But they were further incensed about the granting of the consent, because they had made it clear to Mr Vermuelen that they didn t agree with the centre and would not sign giving their support for the consent application.

"It's hard to believe that the council would go ahead and grant consent without asking us, the nearest neighbours. Our rights were completely ignored," they said. Mrs Cox said yesterday that they were relieved the consent decision had now been overturned.

"I feel better now, knowing that we will probably get to have our say at a proper public hearing."

Narconon, the Scientology Church rehabilitation programme, had been chosen for the centre because it focused on healthy living and lifestyle choices, working on the premise of a clean mind and a clean body.

Those on the programme would be treated with vitamins and minerals and have saunas to flush the toxins from the fat cells of their bodies, along with regular exercise and counselling.

Specialist people selected to run the programme at the centre would need to be trained for between four and six weeks at the Narconon addiction centre in Melbourne.

 More about narconon

Radio New Zealand International

The Voice of New Zealand, Broadcasting to the Pacific

Te Reo Irirangi O Aotearoa, O Te Moana-Nui-A-Kiwa

Posted at 06:14 on 04 October, 2007 UTC

Hundreds of Christian believers in Samoa from Pentecostal churches and ministries have marched in protest against the government’s support of the Scientology religion.

They marched to the front of the government building in Apia where Scientology tents have been put up as the main venue for its disaster training and seminars over the next two weeks.

The protesters have called on the government to reconsider its stance to allow the Scientology members into the country as they would try to persuade many Christian believers to join the scientologists.

Early this week, the chairman of the main council of churches, the Reverend Oka Fau’olo, denied the council was supporting the goodwill visit by Scientology ministers.

The chairman has warned the country to be very cautious of the organisation’s teachings

Scientologists snap up heritage home

Source : www.nzherald.co.nz by Anne Gibson

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The Church of Scientology is stepping up its image and presence here, spending $10 million to buy a prominent Auckland building.

The church, which is popular with Hollywood stars such as Tom Cruise and John Travolta, will move around 100 staff into the building perched above the Southern Motorway at Grafton and run courses from there.

It will soon leave Panmure's industrial strip for the building now occupied by the Whitecliffe College of Arts and Design, which has two other campus sites.

The college fitted the building out with art studios, a library, darkrooms, seminar rooms and a lecture hall but it is looking for new premises.

Soon, the church will be preaching the teachings of L Ron Hubbard and the dianetics spiritual healing technology from the property.

Real estate consultants DTZ handled the sale and spokesman Kevin Richards said the church paid $10 million for the building at 136 Grafton Rd and his firm would manage the property. The building was owned by a private partnership which had owned it for just a few years.

"The building was not on the market and they had to pay a premium to get it," Richards said. The art school is looking to lease new premises.

The property is listed on the Historic Places Trust's register as a category two building.

It is also listed on Auckland City's historic schedule as a category B building.

Church spokesman Mike Ferriss said yesterday his organisation operated from a building at 532-534 Ellerslie-Panmure Highway and the church had about 5000 members nationally.

"We have been searching for a suitable property for a number of years with an emphasis on heritage properties. Our interest in 136 Grafton Rd started when one of our founding members suggested that it would be the ideal building for us. That was almost a year ago."

Ferriss said the church would fully renovate and restore the building over two years and expected to move in once the work was completed.

"The New Zealand Scientology Church was formally established in January 1955, making it the first outside of the United States and the second oldest in the world. People from all over the country come to the church in Auckland for services. The new facility should be able to cater for 200 or so students and about 100 staff."

DTZ said the building was opened as Trinity College in March 1929 and was used as a training facility for ministers of the Methodist Church. This stopped in 1972 when the college was leased to the Education Department and, since 1984, the building had served as premises for Whitecliffe, a private education institution.

Ferriss said the building was a comfortable fit with his organisation's international property portfolio.