Prime Minister Chris Hipkins will revoke lobbyists’ swipe-card access to Parliament and help them develop a voluntary code of conduct that makes the industry more transparent.
The decision follows reporting from RNZ’s Guyon Espiner that detailed close relationships between lobbyists and politicians.
“It’s very important we have a sensible and transparent system that does not give the impression that lobbyists enjoy an unfair advantage over other New Zealanders,” he said.
The prime minister said he had commissioned analysis of policy options for regulating lobbying activities, which enjoyed much more relaxed rules in NZ than other nations.
Advice from this report isn't expected until sometime next year, but Hipkins didn’t rule out passing new laws to formally regulate the industry after that stage.
As interim measures, the prime minister has asked the Speaker of the House to take away swipe-card access to Parliament for lobbyists.
Currently, about 80 business and union representatives can access secure parliament buildings without going through security and reception, much like staff and accredited media.
“My view is they [lobbyists] should go through the front door like every other New Zealander,” Hipkins said.
The government has also asked the Ministry of Justice to help third-party lobbyists to develop a voluntary code of conduct which could enhance transparency.
One example would be including names of the clients they represent on their websites.
The Cabinet Manual – which sets out how Ministers should act – will also get updated this month to make it clear they should not be influenced by the possibility of securing a future job after leaving office.
Nash review
Hipkins also released terms of reference for the review into Stuart Nash’s ministerial communications with donors.
It will be carried out by the Secretary of the Cabinet and will take about two months to complete. The review will look at whether there were other breaches of the cabinet manual or conflicts of interest in his communications with donors.
Nash announced on Monday he will not contest the Napier seat during the October election having served as its MP for nine years. The party will need to select a new candidate for the seat.
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