Walker Holly: Lobbying Disclosure Bill — First Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Walker Holly: Lobbying Disclosure Bill — First Reading 
[Sitting date: 25 July 2012. Volume:682;Page:3959. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
HOLLY WALKER (Green) 
: 
 Tena koe Mr Speaker. Tena koutou e te Whare. I move  
That the Lobbying Disclosure Bill be now read a first time. 
 I nominate the Government Administration Committee to consider the bill. 
It is with great pleasure that I rise to introduce the Lobbying Disclosure Bill which is my first member’s bill in this House. I want to begin by acknowledging Sue Kedgley who originally conceived of and drafted this bill during the 49th Parliament. It is an honour and a privilege to carry on Sue’s important work for more open and transparent government and honest politics and to have the opportunity to guide her bill through Parliament’s processes. 
Sue launched this bill out of a concern about the growing influence of lobbying in New Zealand. After 12 years in Parliament she thought lobbying was becoming increasingly entrenched in our political system and she was concerned that it was unregulated and often happening behind closed doors outside the public sphere. This bill was drawn from the ballot at a time when there are increased calls for lobbying transparency in other jurisdictions as well as New Zealand. In the United Kingdom the Conservative Government has also undertaken to introduce a statutory register of lobbyists following a number of high-profile scandals involving lobbying. Although we are fortunate that New Zealand has not been caught up in lobbying scandals like those we have seen in other jurisdictions the reality remains that some people have a better chance of being heard than others. Most of the time we do not know who these people are including until very recently the small group that has access passes to Parliament. 
This bill is an opportunity to create best practice in New Zealand before we find ourselves in a situation like that of the United Kingdom. A lobbying disclosure regime is an important step towards more open government and is consistent with recent moves towards greater transparency and independence for MPs’ salaries and expenses in New Zealand and in other Westminster jurisdictions. This bill aims to bring a measure of transparency and public disclosure to lobbying activity in New Zealand. It also aims to enhance trust in the integrity of Parliament and in political decision-making. It is closely modelled on the successful Canadian public disclosure regime and was developed following an OECD report recommending that member countries take action to establish lobbying disclosure regimes in their respective jurisdictions. 
The bill seeks to do two things. First it establishes a Register of Lobbyists. Anyone who is paid to undertake lobbying activity must register and file quarterly returns with the Auditor-General. Second it empowers the Auditor-General to develop a code of ethics for lobbyists in consultation with key stakeholders and the public. Once finalised anyone registered as a lobbyist would be required to comply with the code of ethics. 
There are some key principles that have guided my work on this bill to date and I would like to set these out for members now to help shape our debate in the House tonight. It is my intention that these principles should be included in the purpose statement in the final version of the bill if it progresses through further stages in the House. First lobbying is a legitimate activity. In seeking to introduce a disclosure regime and a code of ethics it is not my intention to designate lobbying as illegitimate or to prevent it from happening. It may come as a surprise to some members to hear that politicians are not experts on everything. In some cases we are not experts on anything. It is an important part of our job to hear from those with knowledge on an issue to help inform our decision making. Lobbying can help with this. Although this bill would require certain communications to be registered and declared it does not suppose that these communications should not be taking place. 
Second an open and accessible Government and Parliament is vital. A wonderful thing about New Zealand is how approachable and accessible our politicians are. In no way do we want this bill to be seen as an attempt to restrict access to MPs or to have a chilling effect on interactions between the public and their representatives. We want it to be easy for people to actively engage as citizens in our democracy. However as part of this open and accessible system we need to be transparent about who has that access. The public has a right to know who is lobbying MPs on which issues. Lobbying transparency will help to level the playing field in terms of influence on decision making. 
Since the bill was pulled from the ballot I have sought to engage with anyone and everyone with an interest in the bill or who might be affected by a lobbying disclosure regime. I have met with corporate lobbyists in-house lobbyists from businesses and non-government organisations and representatives from unions charities and other political parties all in an effort to learn more about how a disclosure regime and a code of ethics would fit within their activities and to understand the impacts it would have on their work. I want to thank everyone who has taken the time to meet with me and share their thoughts on the bill. It has been an enjoyable and at times eye-opening process. 
Through this consultation process it has become clear that certain areas of the bill as currently drafted may require amendment. Although it is vital that a lobbying disclosure regime upholds the principles of openness and transparency it also needs to be practical and workable. I freely acknowledge that there is a tension there and it is one that I am confident we can work through in the select committee. 
In the spirit of openness and transparency but without wanting to prejudice any of the conversations that we will have in the committee I would like to flag to the House some of those areas that I believe may require further exploration. One area is the definition both of lobbying activity and who would be captured as a lobbyist. The bill currently defines lobbying as communication in an attempt to influence public decision-making in relation to legislation regulation Government policy or the awarding of grants funding contributions or contracts by or on behalf of Government. It also includes the act of arranging a meeting between a public office holder and any other person. A lobbyist would be anyone who for payment undertakes this sort of communication with a public office holder namely MPs Ministers and anyone employed in their offices. 
Both of these definitions are deliberately wide because as soon as restrictions are introduced we risk not capturing the activity that should be captured and open up avenues for getting around the disclosure regime. However these wide definitions may have some unintended consequences. An example was flagged in the Attorney-General’s New Zealand Bill of Rights Act report on this bill which highlighted that the bill as currently drafted may capture individuals who communicate with their electorate MP on behalf of a small business regarding Government policy. The intent of this bill is not to prevent constituents from contacting their MPs or to prevent MPs from conducting their normal duties. It may be necessary to amend the definitions in the bill to make sure that this intent is clear. 
Another area that I believe warrants further exploration is the possibility of moving the onus of registering and filing returns from the individual lobbyist to the organisation that they represent. This change would help to clarify who is undertaking lobbying activity and would therefore need to register as well as reducing the administrative burden particularly for smaller organisations. Questions have also been raised with me about the range of activity that might fall within the definition of lobbying communication and how much of that activity would need to be disclosed. 
I am hopeful that some of the grey areas about what to declare and when will be dealt with through the development of a code of ethics as well as in the broader role of the Auditor-General or another agency that might pick up the role and functions suggested for the Auditor-General. In Canada the Commissioner of Lobbying has a strong educational role in order to foster awareness of the requirements of the Act and is able to take a discretionary approach towards issues of compliance. I would like to see the same thing happen here. 
There are some aspects of the bill that I believe must remain intact and are central to the purpose of the bill. It is important that the bill continues to apply across the board to all types of individuals or organisations that undertake paid lobbying activity. This means that as well as capturing consultant lobbyists it must also apply to so-called in-house lobbyists representing businesses and organisations including not-for-profits. True transparency means we need to be able to see the range of organisations that have been communicating with MPs and Ministers in an attempt to influence public policy. Anything less would not give a clear picture of influence. However I am aware from the useful conversations I have had with various organisations and peak bodies that there are particular concerns for smaller not-for-profit organisations about how the provisions of this bill might apply to them. I am confident that these can also be addressed by the select committee and I reiterate in the House tonight my willingness to engage with an open mind on these issues. 
I am grateful for the indications of support I have had from other parties to allow this bill to be referred to the Government Administration Committee for further consideration. I look forward to engaging in the deliberations of that committee and exploring some of the potential amendments I have flagged in my speech tonight as well as hearing from affected parties and members of the public about potential further improvements to the bill. I am very pleased to commend this bill to the House. No reira tena koutou tena koutou tena koutou katoa.