Hipkins announced the new lobbying measures today, which also include establishing a voluntary code of conduct and commissioning policy advice around regulating the industry.
Many of the measures were in a Green Party bill in 2012 that ultimately did not get Parliamentary support, but which Hipkins said he had personally been supportive of.
Hipkins said it had been on his mind for some time but the recent issues had brought it front and centre. New Zealand remained one of the least corrupt countries in the world, but perception was also important, he said.
When the issue was last looked at in 2012 with the Greens’ bill it did not work out because it was too broad in scope, Hipkins said.
”I want Parliament to take another look, learning the lessons from that process.
“To do it well, will require considerable work and consultation and I anticipate the advice coming back in 2024.”
Other steps to take more immediate effect included removing swipe card access to Parliament for anyone in the business, non-government and union sectors.
There are currently about 80 people who get swipe card access to enter Parliament – many of them lobbyists, government relations specialists for corporates, and union reps.
Those who will get to keep the cards include spouses of former MPs and political party staff and representatives.
Hipkins will also offer Government support – and funding – to lobbyists to establish a voluntary code of conduct.
Hipkins said he also wanted third-party lobbyists to develop a voluntary code of conduct that would enhance transparency by, for example, including the names of the clients they represent on their websites.
“Others involved in lobbying, for instance peak bodies, industry associations and other entities may also wish to sign up for this as well.
“The Government will offer assistance from the Ministry of Justice to help draft the code and to provide research on overseas practises and guidance.”
National deputy leader Nicola Willis said she supported the Government’s “tentative” steps towards addressing lobbying but wanted more action, such as a 12-month cooling off period for former ministers.
“We think a compulsory stand-down period for former ministers before they can be lobbyists and we’d also like to see a register so people can see who’s lobbying for who.”
Act’s David Seymour was pleased the swipe cards were being ditched but cautioned against installing too many rules as it could limit access for normal Kiwis.
“If you make the rules more complicated, [lobbyists] will be the only people that can actually get access to ministers.”
Green Party electoral reform spokeswoman Golriz Ghahraman said the moves were welcome but wanted more action taken around donations.
She said her Strengthening Democracy member’s bill would have limited the influence of big money - and closed a loophole that protected donations from disclosure if they are given to the Electoral Commission first.
She also called for a cap on annual donations to $35,000 and lowering the disclosure threshold to $1000.
Hipkins said a stand-down period for former politicians would be part of the wider review.
Hipkins said a refresh of the Cabinet manual, out this month, also sets clear expectations for Ministers in relation to conduct and decisions when considering future employment – a step to try to address concerns around politicians moving straight into lobbying jobs after leaving Parliament.
Hipkins said he had not spoken to nor consulted with any lobbyists about these decisions.
Hipkins said he was not able to recall his last specific meeting with a lobbyist but he had had “interactions”. He did have a lot of interaction with unions, but not paid lobbyists. It was more at the informal level.
He said he had not had a lot of direct engagement with lobbyists.
On lobbying, Hipkins said it was about NZers being able to trust the Government and being accountable.
Removal of swipe card access
On the removal of swipe-card access, he said some lobbyists as well as business and union representatives had swipe-card access to the building. “My view is they should go through the front door like every other New Zealander.”
“Access to Parliament is controlled by the Speaker, but I’ve written to him today to express the Government’s view this access should be removed.”
“I want, as much as possible, for this to be a bi-partisan issue and I call on other political parties to support this measure.”
He said he knew New Zealand was an outlier compared to other countries on this issue.
Hipkins said swipe cards created the perception of increased access.
Voluntary code of conduct
On the voluntary code of conduct, Hipkins said he also wanted third-party lobbyists to develop a voluntary code of conduct that would enhance transparency by, for example, including the names of the clients they represent on their websites.
“Others involved in lobbying, for instance peak bodies, industry associations and other entities may also wish to sign up for this as well.”
“The Government will offer assistance from the Ministry of Justice to help draft the code and to provide research on overseas practises and guidance.”
Lobbyist Mark Unsworth of Saunders Unsworth said the difficulty in regulating the industry would be in defining who was a lobbyist, as it was in 2012.
He said if lobbying was someone’s principal job - no matter what field it was in - they should be on the list.
“It has to be wide - you can’t just say environmental lobbyists aren’t real lobbyists, or trade unions, or doctors or lawyers or whatever, but big nasty business are lobbyists. They’re all doing lobbying.”
He also questioned whether it was needed.
“To say we need it because other countries need it is not necessarily right. We might need it at times but we’ve got a pretty open, honest system.”
He said the loss of swipe card access to Parliament did not bother him - it simply allowed for access through the main doors and to the public areas of Parliament, such as the cafe, but not more widely around Parliament.
Those who had them still had to make appointments to access ministers, MPs or staff and check in to go up to the Beehive. “So that doesn’t mean much at all.”
He said a voluntary code of conduct could be put together by lobbyists - his company already disclosed its clients except where there were commercially confidential reasons not to - such as a client coming to New Zealand to weigh up or pitch for a project.
In those cases, clients were often disclosed after the work with them concluded.
Background to the moves
The moves on lobbying come after a series of articles by RNZ that highlighted the close relationships between lobbyists and politicians, and how they were also used by Government departments.
The revelations included how Hipkins’ chief of staff, Andrew Kirton, was previously part of a lobbying firm that worked for alcohol companies which pushed back against a proposed container return scheme.
Hipkins previously said there was a need for “transparency and vigilance” around lobbyists and their relationships with politicians.
He said he was not ruling out taking action on the issues raised in the future.
It is understood these measures had been on his radar for some time but were pushed ahead after the reporting by RNZ.
Stuart Nash to retire from politics
Earlier today, former minister Stuart Nash confirmed he would not run again at this year’s election. Hipkins said they did have a conversation and he made clear it was Nash’s decision to make.
Nash was stripped of his ministerial portfolios and kicked out of Cabinet after a series of scandals, the latest being that he sent information about Cabinet decisions to two of his donors. It was also revealed last week that Nash’s office had failed to release the information as part of an Official Information Act request.
Hipkins has also released the terms of reference for the Cabinet Secretary’s inquiry into Stuart Nash’s communications with his donors.
“It will look at whether there were other breaches of Cabinet collective responsibility or confidentiality, or perceived or actual conflicts of interest in communications he had with people and entities who made declared donations to his 2017 or 2020 electorate campaigns.”
“Communications in scope are those by letter, email, text message, WhatsApp or Signal between 26 October, 2017 and 28 Match, 2023 when Nash held ministerial portfolios.”
“New Zealand should rightly be proud of our open and accessible government. I hope these measures will go some way to further increase transparency and the integrity of government.”
On Nash’s terms of reference for the review and why it excluded the 2011 and 2014 campaigns, Hipkins said it was because the focus was on when Nash was a minister.
On the Nash Official Information Act issues, Hipkins said ministers were ultimately responsible for what was being released.
Hipkins said the OIA was still a fundamentally sound piece of legislation.
Issues remained though around how it was implemented. Hipkins said he would not rule out a penalties regime.
Hipkins said he and Nash had spoken on Friday and they had discussed his past and future.
Hipkins said he had not directly asked Nash if he had lied to him about the email. He said he had either withheld that information or forgot, but the endpoint as PM would have been the same.
When asked if he would believe Nash if said he had no other things to disclose, Hipkins replied “clearly I did two weeks ago and that turned out not to be true”.
Lying was unacceptable but so was forgetting something as significant as the emails Nash sent to donors, Hipkins said.
The lobbying crackdown was related to recent events, Hipkins said. It was not specifically related to the Nash situation.
Jacinda Ardern led NZ exceptionally well - Hipkins
On former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern ahead of her valedictory speech on Wednesday, Hipkins said he thought she led the country “exceptionally well” through complicated challenges and New Zealand was better off for her leadership.
He hoped she would leave with her head held high.
On the vitriol directed towards Ardern, Hipkins said he hoped people would leave her alone after she left Parliament. He hoped those on the fringes who did not respect her “would back off”.
Hipkins said it was a tough job and we should accept it was tougher for Jacinda as a young woman. She was subjected to a much greater degree of vitriol than male politicians.
Internationally people like Hillary Clinton had been subjected to this for decades and it was disappointing to see it come here over the past 18 months.
Other issues
On last weekend’s pro-trans rights rally Hipkins said it was “fantastic” and he was proud to see Wellington out in support as an inclusive city.
On reports of nurses leaving for Australia, Hipkins said he had sought more information about the issue.
