Get Lobbying into the Sunlight
Professional lobbying has grown significantly in New Zealand since the 1980s, yet regulation has not kept pace. While lobbying can contribute to public policy, the absence of clear rules has enabled practices that undermine public confidence, including:
- Backdoor discussions between lobbyists and Ministers or their advisers;
- Preferential access to Parliament and decision-makers;
- A revolving door between political office, the public service, lobbying firms, and vested interests;
- Unequal influence over major public issues such as health, labour relations, climate policy, and natural resource management;
- Use of urgency to limit scrutiny and public participation;
- Donations linked to projects that later receive favourable treatment.
New Zealand needs lobbying regulation comparable to countries such as Ireland. Key elements should include:
- A public register of lobbyists;
- Regular disclosure of lobbying activities and the issues being advocated;
- Clear definitions of who may be lobbied, including Ministers, MPs, local government representatives, and senior officials;
- Cooling-off periods for former Ministers and senior public servants;
- Independent oversight with enforcement powers and sanctions.
Health Coalition Aotearoa has led calls for reform. At a 2026 webinar on lobbying transparency, Irish expert Professor Gary Murphy highlighted how regulation in Ireland improved transparency and encouraged better behaviour from both politicians and lobbyists.
As Professor Murphy observed:
"If you want an architecture of open government ... one of the structures you need is regulation of lobbying so that people can understand who is lobbying who about what."
Australian academic Associate Professor Yee Fui Ng noted that lobbying is a legitimate part of democracy, but can become corrosive when negotiations occur behind closed doors and vested interests gain privileged access. Max Rashbrooke described how wealth can be converted into political influence through donations and lobbying, creating imbalances that affect policy outcomes.
Do we have lobbying transparency in New Zealand? Very little. Official Information Act requests have occasionally revealed hidden influence, while ministerial diaries provide only limited information about meetings and their purpose.
A review of ministerial diaries for the Health, Climate Change, and Commerce and Consumer Affairs portfolios suggests business and industry groups often enjoy greater access than NGOs and public-interest organisations. However, diaries reveal only part of the picture. We do not know who sought meetings and was refused, nor what influence occurs outside formally recorded meetings.
Very general comments from this snapshot of diaries are:
· We didn’t see many instances of specific lobbying agencies meeting with Ministers, though some law firms are mentioned. It is likely (since lobbying firms are not going out of business) that lobbyists are either finding ways of influencing Ministers that are not recorded in the diaries or they are focusing on arranging opportunities for their clients to meet Ministers, eg at events.
· NGOs were rarely included in the diaries of any Ministers, other than the Health Minister, who met with organisations representing health professionals, and with well known health NGOs.
· For the double Ministerial portfolio of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Consumer Affairs appeared to take a back seat. Financial service representatives had very good access (noting those meetings could include some consumer focussed discussion).
· Farming representative bodies got very good access to Minister for Climate change. NGOs or climate scientists focusing on climate change are notably absent, although sustainable business groups got meetings. The diary entries for the Minister of Energy suggest the Minister is keen to look at the broad range of energy sources and management
If lobbyists were required to disclose their contacts with Ministers, advisers, and senior officials, and identify the issues they sought to influence, the public would gain a far clearer understanding of decision-making carried out in their name.
Lobbying transparency is only one part of the solution. Stronger controls on the revolving door between public office and lobbying, along with reducing the use of urgency to avoid scrutiny, are also essential.
The problem is clear. What is lacking is political will. We call on all political parties to commit to meaningful lobbying regulation and make it a core element of New Zealand's open government framework.
