LOBBYING 101:

HOW DECISIONS GET MADE BEFORE YOU EVEN HEAR ABOUT THEM

Most people think lobbying is something that happens in Washington or Westminster - a foreign concept involving men in suits and brown paper bags. In New Zealand, we tend to assume our system is cleaner than that. More transparent. More accountable. The reality is more complicated.

WHAT LOBBYING ACTUALLY IS

Lobbying is simply the act of trying to influence a decision made by someone in power. It happens in every democracy. It is not inherently corrupt. But it is only legitimate when it is visible - when the public can see who is trying to influence what, on whose behalf, and with what resources.

WHY THIS MATTERS TO YOU

Decisions about the land you live on, the infrastructure that keeps you safe, the services your community depends on, and the public money spent in your name are all shaped by this system. You pay for it. You live with the consequences. You deserve to understand how it works.

WHAT MAKES NEW ZEALAND DIFFERENT (AND NOT IN A GOOD WAY)

New Zealand is one of the only comparable democracies with no public register of lobbyists. There is limited disclosure of who meets with ministers or senior officials. There is very little visibility into how influence is exercised between elections. Advisory roles, consultation processes, and informal networks do a lot of the work that, in other countries, would happen on the public record.

This does not mean every decision is wrong. But it does mean that by the time a decision becomes public, the people most affected by it often had no seat at the table - while the people with the resources to hire professional advocates did.

Lobby for Good exists to help bring more clarity, more participation, and more confidence into these processes - for communities, for decision-makers who want the full picture, and for anyone who has ever felt like a decision was made without them. Because the antidote to invisible influence is not cynicism. It is information.

“Main political parties are risk averse and not prepared to get offside with key lobbyists and since it all happens in secret, the public are completely unaware and oblivious to it”

Sue Kedgley (former lobbyist and MP)

WE'RE DONE WAITING FOR CHANGE - SO, WE'RE MAKING IT HAPPEN.

JOIN US

“Unlike some other Western democracies, a lack of legislation in New Zealand requiring transparency around lobbying allows activities and tactics to be kept hidden from public scrutiny. Subsequent research for this project found that media frequently do not identify that some news making organisations are in reality lobby groups.”