The term "lobbying" generally describes the practice of engaging in advocacy activities to influence government policies and decisions.
It is an important and legitimate feature of New Zealand’s democratic culture that people can contact Ministers, elected representatives and government officials, to discuss matters affecting them. However, issues can emerge when there is a real or apparent imbalance in access to decision makers, or concern about the level of transparency around who is lobbying who and what’s being discussed.
In April 2023, the then Prime Minister announced several measures aimed at providing greater transparency around lobbying(external link) at Parliament. The Ministry of Justice was tasked to lead two of these measures by:
supporting “third-party” lobbyists who lobby on behalf of others to come together to develop a voluntary code of conduct to improve transparency and accountability that will serve as a set of guidelines.
undertaking a review of the different policy options for regulating lobbying activities.
The Ministry of Justice sought feedback on a draft voluntary lobbying code of conduct, which sets out good practice expectations for those who undertake lobbying activities in New Zealand.
Between September 2023 and January 2024, the Ministry of Justice held an online survey to understand people’s views on an approach to a code of conduct for political lobbying.
The survey link was published in our newsletters about political lobbying and also emailed to more than 100 people who had taken part in meetings facilitated by the Ministry to discuss issues with lobbying in New Zealand.