Hawkes Bay Today
  • Hawke's Bay Today home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Havelock North
  • Central Hawke's Bay
  • Tararua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Gisborne

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Hawkes Bay Today

No more free dinners and corporate boxes: Greens announce new transparency policies

By Tess Nichol
Reporter·NZ Herald·
2 Mar, 2018 04:00 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Green Party co-leader James Shaw says the moves are part of the party's commitment to transparent democracy. Photo / Dean Purcell

Green Party co-leader James Shaw says the moves are part of the party's commitment to transparent democracy. Photo / Dean Purcell

Green Party Ministers are making their ministerial diaries public and both politicians and staff will stop accepting corporate hospitality.

The moves are two transparency measures announced by co-leader James Shaw, put in place to counter the influence of money and lobby groups in politics.

Speaking to members at the Green Party conference in Napier, Shaw said many politicians considered a corporate box at the rugby or being shouted a fancy dinner a "delightful perk" of the job.

"The problem is they're not actually "free"," he said.

"These organisations … are doing it because they want to know there's someone in Parliament or the Beehive who's looking out for their interests."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Community-based organisations or environmental groups by and large lacked the money to try curry favour with politicians in such a manner, Shaw said.

• READ MORE: Selling influence: meet the lobbyists shaping New Zealand politics for a fee

"They're not usually organisations who advocate for the homeless or for single mums; or groups that are fighting to protect our water, or our native bush.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"They're not organisations that have stopping climate change or ending child poverty as part of their KPIs."

Shaw said political power should not be for sale.

"The Green Party has always stood for more transparency around lobbying and access to politicians.

"Now we're in Government, we think it's important to take the lead on this issue, and to try to counter some of the influence of money in politics."

Green Party MPs, Ministers and staff will be able to accept invitations to events, but they will pay full price for their tickets.

Similarly dinners, lunches or coffee meetings will be paid for by the party "where we can".

Shaw also announced he and fellow minister Julie Anne Genter, Eugenie Sage and Jan Logie would all start releasing their ministerial diaries every quarter, to show who they've met with and why.

Calling transparency a hallmark of democracy, Shaw said citizens think New Zealanders deserved to know who was meeting with MPs and ministers, and what the purpose of those meetings were.

The Green Party's Lobbying Disclosure Bill was drawn from the ballot but rejected in 2013 by a parliamentary committee over concerns it was too broad.

Originally drafted by former Green MP Sue Kedgley in 2011, the bill would have forced lobbyists to register and disclose their clients and meetings with Government ministers.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Shaw mentioned in his speech today that the Greens had long been a progressive party dissatisfied with the status quo.

Now they had access to the levers of Government, the Greens could affect "real progress on the issues that have defined us as a party".

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Hawkes Bay Today

Hawkes Bay Today

Taradale scupper Pirates to continue club rugby reign

13 Jul 12:44 AM
Hawkes Bay Today

New Four Square and shops planned for Taradale town centre

12 Jul 06:00 PM
Hawkes Bay Today

‘Still there’: Removal of logging machine sent tumbling over cliff proving tricky

12 Jul 05:59 PM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Hawkes Bay Today

Taradale scupper Pirates to continue club rugby reign

Taradale scupper Pirates to continue club rugby reign

13 Jul 12:44 AM

The Mighty Maroons send 'Red' off in style.

New Four Square and shops planned for Taradale town centre

New Four Square and shops planned for Taradale town centre

12 Jul 06:00 PM
‘Still there’: Removal of logging machine sent tumbling over cliff proving tricky

‘Still there’: Removal of logging machine sent tumbling over cliff proving tricky

12 Jul 05:59 PM
Landslide sparks evacuations, roads closed, homes flooded after storm

Landslide sparks evacuations, roads closed, homes flooded after storm

12 Jul 12:43 AM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Hawke's Bay Today e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Hawke's Bay Today
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP