New Zealand to regulate lobbying with lawmakers

By Anadolu Staff

ANKARA (AA) – New Zealand’s Prime Minister Chris Hipkins on Monday announced a string of actions towards regulating the country's lobbying industry, which include removing the lobbyists' swipe card access to the Parliament.

Addressing a press conference after a Cabinet meeting, Hipkins said that lobbyists’ swipe cards for Parliament will be canceled to better regulate their access to politicians. This includes business, the non-government sector, and union representatives.

The new lobbying measures also include establishing a "voluntary code of conduct" and commissioning policy advice around regulating the industry.

It comes on the heels of a series of articles by the state-run Radio New Zealand, which highlighted the deep relationships between lobbyists and politicians, apart from the government departments, local English daily New Zealand Herald reported.

The revelations, it added, included how Hipkins’ chief of staff, Andrew Kirton, was previously part of a lobbying firm that worked for alcohol companies that pushed back against a proposed container return scheme.

The move also follows the resignation of former minister Stuart Nash, who was stripped of his portfolio after a series of scandals, the latest being that he sent information about the Cabinet decisions to two of his donors.

The move has so far drawn bipartisan support, with the key opposition party – National – demanding the government officially institute a compulsory stand-down period for former ministers before becoming lobbyists, according to the news outlet Stuff.com.

Hipkins said a stand-down period for former politicians would be part of the wider review.

Currently, about 80 people enjoy swipe card access to enter the Parliament – many of them lobbyists, government relations specialists for corporates, and union representatives.