Former Politicians Join Anti-Corruption NGO to Push for Lobbying Reform in NZ

Unlike most OECD countries, New Zealand doesn’t have any lobbying regulations.

External view of the "Beehive" Ministerial wing and the NZ Parliament, which houses the Debating Chamber. Rex Widerstrom/The Epoch Times

Health experts and former politicians from both sides of the aisle are calling for reform of political lobbying in New Zealand under a campaign called “Level the Playing Field.”

Major backers are the Health Coalition Aotearoa (HCA), the Helen Clark Foundation, and Transparency International.

Helen Clark was a Labour MP and the country’s prime minister from 1999 to 2008 and was head of the United Nations Development Programme from 2009 to 2017.

Transparency International’s New Zealand operation is chaired by Anne Tolley, a National MP who held ministerial posts from 2008 to 2017 and became deputy speaker before retiring in 2020.

Unlike most OECD countries, New Zealand doesn’t have any lobbying regulations.

The campaign claims that, as a result, “vested and commercial interests currently have excessive influence on public policy-making.”

Introducing regulation would ensure greater transparency around public policy-making and “stop things from getting worse” while supporting citizens’ opportunities for participation in lawmaking through avenues such as written and oral submissions to Parliament’s select committees.

“Any new measures need to be compulsory,” they say, because “there’s no evidence that the kind of voluntary initiatives the industry prefers will do anything to help clean up lobbying.”

“The ’revolving door' between working in government and working in lobbying creates opportunities to misuse confidential state information for private benefit,” it argues.

“And if some people have special access to decision-makers, they have greater power to shape policies towards their own interests and away from the common good. These are all ways in which the playing field is currently tilted towards private and commercial vested interests.”

Lobbying Law

Levelling that playing field requires a new law, which they suggest be called the Regulation of Lobbying Act.

Its provisions would create an online, publicly accessible, and searchable register where lobbyists must make quarterly returns detailing their contacts with MPs, political staffers, and senior public servants.

Minister Kris Faafoi speaks to media during question time at Parliament in Wellington, New Zealand, on Aug. 6, 2020. Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images

It would also impose a “cooling off period” of between one and three years during which former ministers, MPs, political staffers and senior public servants could not lobby anyone in government on issues in which they'd had official dealings.

The most recent example of that trend is former Labour Cabinet Minister Chris Fa'afoi, who left Parliament in 2022 and immediately set up his own lobbying firm, then last year took a job as chief executive of the Insurance Council of New Zealand.

One of the portfolios he'd held was Commerce and Consumer Affairs.

Lobbyists would also have to adhere to a mandatory code of conduct, and rules for dealing with lobbyists would be added to existing codes for ministers and public servants.

The regimen would be overseen by a newly-created Integrity Commission, with the power to levy fines, prosecute law-breakers and enforce the Act.

“This will ensure the ... policies have real teeth,” the campaign says.

The HCA pointed to “recent failures” where it claims the government favoured industry interests over public health, such as “repealing world-leading smokefree laws and prioritising industry interests in infant formula regulations.”

Lobbying Without Transparency Harmful to Democracy: Campaign

Earlier this month it was revealed that Food Safety Minister Andrew Hoggard had been lobbied by his sister, Kimberly Crewther, who is the executive director of the Dairy Companies Association of New Zealand (DCANZ), which represents dairy manufacturers and exporters.

And when NZ First MP and Associate Health Minister Casey Costello cut tobacco excise on heated tobacco products, it was found that two senior corporate communication positions at tobacco giant Philip Morris were held by people who previously had senior roles in the party.

Associate Minister Casey Costello during a cabinet meeting at Parliament in Wellington, New Zealand, on Nov. 28, 2023. Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images

The decision meant the government—which is pushing an image of austerity—set aside a contingency fund of $216 million to cover the loss of revenue.

It was also discovered that a paper Costello had sent to health officials parroted tobacco industry talking points. She initially denied it existed, then later said she did not know who wrote it or how it ended up in her office.

“Lobbying becomes harmful if it’s carried out unethically—if, for instance, lobbyists provide misleading or partial information, or use personal relationships with decision-makers to get favours,” the Level the Playing Field campaign says.

“Lobbying is also particularly concerning if it’s carried out without transparency so that the public can’t see who is influencing whom.

“An imbalance of influence and power undermines public trust in government and can lead to decisions that have negative effects on the health and well-being of people and the environment,” it says.

“This undermines public trust in government and democracy. The word ‘democracy’ means ’the power of the people,‘ not ’the power of corporations and vested interests.’”