Who's 'screwing the scrum' in the Beehive?

Political insiders reveal the 'unrestrained and opaque' lobbying that's over inequalities of power and wealth at the heart of government.

And just like that New Zealand’s dream of being fag-free by 2025 went up in a nicotine-heavy puff of smoke. News that cigarette smokers will be helping pay for the National-led Government’s planned tax cuts after coalition negotiations put the kaibosh on its foreign buyer plans, has reignited the debate over lobbyists and how much influence they have on law makers.

Several names may well have featured in the bring-back-baccy discussions. One is Sunny Kushal, chairperson of the Dairy and Business Owners Group, who earlier this year argued that with 50% of dairies’ revenue coming from selling tobacco the smoke-fee bill would wipe out the corner shop; the second is British American Tobacco, or BAT; the third is Philip Morris, an international cigarette manufacturer which has segued into “smoke-free” products such as e-cigarettes and vapes and which is the former employer of new housing minister Chris Bishop; and the fourth is Imperial Brands, which sponsors pro-tobacco group Save our Stores. Lobbyists. Let me count the whos.

In fact, type the words “government relations” into a search engine and watch the deluge. The Food & Grocery Council, the banks, Federated Farmers, Forest & Bird, Business NZ, Retail NZ, Zespri, Air New Zealand, the Retirement Villages Association, Taxpayers Union, PSA, Fonterra, Tourism Industry Aotearoa, NZ Trucking Association, Greenpeace, Insurance Council, Medicines NZ, the Alcohol Beverages Council... the list is extensive, but you can bet most, if not all, of them will have chewed the ear of someone in Government over the past year.

Some will have used their own internal specialists, others the so-called consultant lobbyists – those paid to lobby on behalf of a client. There are also organisations that have a mandated lobbying role – one example of which is the Law Society, required under the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act to assist and promote law reform.

Depending on who you talk to, lobbying is either a vital component of a democracy hopefully leading to better policies, or it’s a back door opportunity for the monied and connected to short-cut the mire of the political process.

The Ministry of Justice describes lobbying as “the practice of engaging in advocacy activities to influence government policies and decisions”. It takes many forms; from a phone call or text here, a beer or coffee there, maybe an online campaign or even a formal office meeting.

For the purposes of this article those spoken to were consultant lobbyists, the hired guns, those who do the bidding of the wealthier business interests.

Mark Unsworth is a veteran. A former private secretary to David Caygill (who is now chair of the BusinessNZ Energy Council), Unsworth has been involved in the dark art of influencing for close to 30 years. He reckons consultant lobbyists make up between 15% and 20% of the total number in NZ. Wellington is, if not crawling with them, then certainly home to many. Unsworth, whose company Saunders Unsworth lists its clients on its website, puts the number of independent companies working out of the city at around 30, though only 10 would be lobbying full-time. That they are within spitting distance of the very people they are being paid to get chummy with is an added bonus.

Although NZ ranked third –behind Denmark and Sweden – on 2022’s global corruption perceptions index with a score of 87 (100 being what is called “very clean” and 0 “highly corrupt”), Transparency International NZ has been highly critical of lobbying, arguing the proximity to power undermines the principle of equitable and equal access to government.

It says lobbying here “is unrestrained and opaque with neither professional standards nor a public register of lobbyists and the clients they represent”.

And while all advice provided to, and correspondence with, ministers through the public service is subject to the Official Information Act (and scheduled meetings are published as part of ministerial diary releases), there is no obligation to publicly disclose information provided to ministers by lobbyists.

No wonder the public is suspicious, then, of what goes on in the shadows.

Much has been written about the circular door, where ex politicians, political staff and sometimes media shift sideways into advocacy roles. You only need to look at Wellington’s rather incestuous lobbying industry to see how very real that three degrees of separation is.

In the interests of transparency I have worked in the Beehive, first as a Labour press secretary in Opposition and then in government under Jacinda Ardern.

The number of ex staffers from that time who are now lobbyists or government relations consultants has grown exponentially. The same goes for those who worked on the other side of the political spectrum.

That in itself says much about how connections have become an important, if not the most important, part of the lobbying process. It really is about who you know.

Then there’s the politicians. Russel Nor

man now plugs for Greenpeace; Clayton Cosgrove has his own consultancy; Simon Bridges is Auckland Chamber of Commerce chief executive; Amy Adams (a former Justice Minister) runs her own consultancy, offering “strategic advice and governance to a range of entities based on her unique combination of commercial legal expertise and senior government experience...”; and Steven Joyce touts himself as an advisor/ consultant on business strategy and public policy.

Stuart Nash knows all about lobbyists. It was his dealings with Troy Bowker, chair of Wellington-based investment company Caniwi and a “mate”, that led to his political downfall.

Ironically, Nash has since become a lobbyist with recruitment company Robert Walters. Kiri Allan too, has set up her own consultancy business, using her political experience as a pitch to clients wanting legislative and regulatory reform and advice.

Then there’s Fletcher Tabuteau, ex NZ First MP, who has just joined Capital, a PR consultancy set up by Andrew Little’s former chief of staff Neale Jones. Its website notes, it is “just a few doors down from Parliament” and staffed by a “collective of seasoned political advisers, campaigners, policy analysts...”

Nash’s colleague Kris Faafoi also moved straight from the Beehive into a lobbying job. That not only prompted more criticism but precipitated moves by then PM Chris Hipkins to enhance transparency around lobbying. That included removing parliamentary swipe card access and ordering the Ministry of Justice to review policy options for regulating lobby activities.

In a briefing to Minister Ginny Anderson in August the Ministry said it had had three meetings with government relations consultants to discuss a voluntary code of conduct for third-party lobbyists. “On balance there was support for a code that addressed lobbying activities and behaviours rather than a particular group.”

A series of targeted workshops were planned for September with stakeholder groups. The ministry was due to report back early next year.

What happens to the review under the new government is anyone’s guess, although National’s deputy leader Nicola Willis has said her party would impose a 12-month stand-down period for former ministers and introduce a compulsory register of lobbyists, rather than a voluntary code of conduct.

A spokesperson for new Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith said he was focused on getting up to speed on the justice portfolio and delivery of the 100-day plan. Any decisions about the Justice work programme will be taken in due course.

Bryce Edwards, who runs the Democracy Project at Victoria University, suspects it is unlikely to be dumped completely. “It would be a terrible look to be straight away looking like an enemy of transparency and a friend of lobbyists.”

He says a change of government is a key time for lobbyists and interest groups to strike, borne out by recent personnel changes in some firms, notably at Capital where Tabuteau and Ben Thomas, a former press secretary for National’s Chris Finlayson, have been vaulted in to take over the government relations work.

Says Edwards: “The reality is that there is a growing global concern with the power of lobbyists in the political process. This heightened concern reflects rising discontent with inequalities of power and wealth, with a suspicion that powerful vested interests and insiders are ‘screwing the scrum’ to create a world where some individuals profit and many urgent public policies aren’t sufficiently dealt with. This same dynamic seems present in NZ, too.”

What is lobbying/what does a lobbyist do?

Hired and paid by everyone from private schools to corporate monoliths, to special interest groups and non-profits, the role of a lobbyist is to exert influence over elected officials.

Consultant lobbyists provide a range of services, including media training, strategic advice, advice on process and information sharing.

Said one: “Lobbying comes loaded with a sort of House of Cards-style view, but most of my job is advising clients on how government works and how to get their message across and be heard.”

They can be hired to assist in passing legislation, or to help stymie it.

Auckland’s Boyd PR puts it like this: “A direct line to the decision makers – and getting a company’s voice heard by central and local government. We help brands influence policies and legislation to cultivate and grow relationships with their key audiences.”

Contacts within Parliament can be a minister or MP, or whoever is closest to them. That could be their senior private secretary, press secretary or political advisor, says Ben Thomas, who was the lobbyists go-to when he was working for Finlayson.

Thomas prefers the less loaded term “government relations”: “Government relations is the practice of helping clients determine a strategy and navigate the decision-making processes in government - including Parliament, ministers, departments and agencies - that can have an enormous impact on people’s lives. Government is, or should be, interested in hearing about how its decisions will affect businesses, the environment, trade, communities, and everything else.”

Lobbyists also schmooze, with networking events, free tickets, Christmas gifts. BusinessNZ is known for its annual cocktail soiree, which it bills as the “biggest annual networking/connecting event held in Wellington” where hundreds of business people meet with “MPs and key officials over drinks and canapes”.

“Anyone can bump into their local MP at the airport, or the library, or the bowling club and most MPs have sessions where they are available to meet the public,” Mark Unsworth says. “What we do is aide and abet the process.”

On the other hand, there are also those who would sell their grandmother, according to one source. “I know of some who have yelled at people to get their way, including ministers, to make an argument for a client.”

A guide to spotting a lobbyist

This can be difficult. Unlike some other countries – including Canada, the US and Australia – New Zealand has no rules around disclosure, though the parliamentary website does publish an “approved visitor” list, which since the largely symbolic swipe card de-frocking consists mostly of party officials.

Meanwhile in the US at the federal level lobbyists and lobbying firms are required to disclose the issues and legislation they attempted to influence, among other details of their activities. A list of registered lobbyists is a matter of public record.

Still, Wellington has a few favourite lobbyist spotting hangouts, including Astoria on Midland Park (Clare Curran and Carol Hirschfeld know about this), La Cloche on The Terrace, Mojo in the Defence building, Boulcott St Bistro (for lots of drinking as well as dinner) and any one of the corporate boxes at the Sky stadium.

In public, lobbyists will be the ones looking furtively every which way as they chat in hushed tones to their “guest”.

The money

There is plenty sloshing around. Mark Unsworth puts the hourly worth of a consultant lobbyist at up to 50% more than a run-of-the-mill PR consultant.

“Lots,” is the word he responds with when asked about pay rates. Many are paid retainers, rather than an hourly rate, with the latter more likely for shorter projects, usually less than six months.

Insiders say a standard retainer can be anywhere between $1500 and $10,000 a month, while hourly rates vary for the type of work involved. It’s not uncommon to be charged upwards of $250-$350 an hour.

“The reality is that there is a growing global concern with the power of lobbyists in the political process. This heightened concern reflects rising discontent with inequalities of power and wealth, with a suspicion that powerful vested interests and insiders are ‘screwing the scrum’ to create a world where some individuals profit and many urgent public policies aren’t sufficiently dealt with. This same dynamic seems present in New Zealand, too.”

Bryce Edwards

“Any new government is vulnerable to being captured by vested interests as they start restructuring. When these people come from lobbying and corporate PR backgrounds, it’s wise to ask who might benefit from those connections.”

Bryce Edwards, right

Says Ben Thomas: “We’re in the professional service field, rates are commensurate with that kind of work. Most of our work comes by word of mouth, from recommendations.”

In his recent investigation into lobbying, RNZ’s Guyon Espiner revealed SenateSHJ was contracted to provide communications and media advice to the Commerce Commission, and billed for more than $300,000 between July 2020 and September 2022.

Stuff reported last year that public sector organisations including ACC and Auckland Council had spent more than $1 million on memberships of business advocacy group BusinessNZ over the past several years.

Conversely several people the Sunday Star-Times spoke to said they also do pro bono work.

When it comes to access, numbers matter. While some lobbyists are adamant the small size of New Zealand means it’s an equal playing field when it comes to sharing their thoughts on an issue with their local MP, Unsworth is more realistic

He cites America’s National Rifle Association as an example: “They are probably the most disliked lobby group in America, and no matter how much I hate them, they get their power from membership.

“If you have millions of members and you knock on a door, the door gets opened. If you are Fonterra or Fletcher Building and you want to see the minister then you get to see the minister. If Joe Blow preacher from Temuka goes to see a minister he might not get in, but if there’s some sort of society of religious ministers then they might.”

Same goes for mayors. Wayne Brown might get an audience, Balclutha’s Bryan Cadogan probably not. “But that’s life, really,” says Unsworth.

He compares lobbyists to the Press Gallery – they spend “a lot of time at Parliament getting to know people and what’s happening”. And political gossip, such as who is likely to be in Cabinet or a new minister, can be important to a client.

He argues money doesn’t always talk, pointing to the heft of environmental groups in getting laws passed that banned all new oil and gas exploration permits in Aotearoa’s EEZ.

“You can get a lot of policy change just with public support. A lobbyist doesn’t promise anything in this business – just a bit more knowledge of the system.”

There’s that word, knowledge, again. As with “networking”, they use it often. Ben Thomas says it’s no guarantee of leverage: “I have never known policy to be changed or funds to be allocated as a favour for a mate.”

Another lobbyist who wanted to remain anonymous described their advocacy work as a regular test of government ideas, but said that was also true of select committees, consultations and meet and greets. “Democracy is founded on people lobbying.”

Former Internal Affairs Minister Peter Dunne is having none of that. He is not anti-lobbying per se – “it is a long established part of the political system” – rather his beef is with the lightning speed of the revolving door.

“Traditional lines of separation are quickly blurred, and the process takes on an unsavoury air of mates helping mates,” he said in a recent opinion piece, where he also ripped into their self-professed monopoly on institutional knowledge.

“When I was a minister I quickly concluded that such lobbyists were largely a waste of time, and so had as little to do with them as possible.

“Most of their concerns could be ascertained by talking directly to the sector concerned, without any need to involve these new lobbyists.”

Most, he argued were “professional whingers, who ran with the hares and hunted with the hounds. They were very good at telling you what they did not like but woefully weak when asked to provide an alternative solution.”

In Canada, the cooling-off period for designated public officials is five years.

Victoria’s Bryce Edwards says with experienced operators such Steven Joyce, Bill English and Wayne Eagleson (John Key’s former chief of staff who is now working for Thompson Lewis, part owned and run by Gordon John Thompson who worked for both Jacinda Ardern and Helen Clark), helping bed in the new government’s advisers, trainers and “spin doctors”, continued public scrutiny was vital.

“Any new government is vulnerable to being captured by vested interests as they start restructuring. When these people come from lobbying and corporate PR backgrounds, it’s wise to ask who might benefit from those connections.”