lobbying

It has been no secret that Piers Morgan is a big opponent of guns and the Second Amendment, but for a fleeting second it almost seems as though the irritable whinger ‘gets it’. Almost.

I’ve had some of the pro-gun lobbyists on here, saying to me, ‘Well, the reason we need to be armed is because of tyranny from our own government,’ and I’ve always laughed at them,” Morgan said last night. “But, actually, this is vaguely tyrannical behavior by the American government. Read more »

Greenpeace is trying frantically to get its charitable status back…they even went to great lengths to clan up their website of all political lobbying and brand destruction campaigns they have orchestrated.

But they just couldn’t help themselves with the TPPA negotiations…they are back at it. I just hope someone will inform the Charities Commission of their activities. They even have a political cartoon on the page.

Holly Walker’s lobbying bill is in trouble…but here is an idea for her to consider with fundraising.

The sold-out walking tour began along the Spree River here, within sight of theReichstag’s glass dome. But the group would not visit the historic Parliament building, Checkpoint Charlie or the Brandenburg Gate. About 30 people assembled instead to spend a gray Saturday afternoon in November standing outside office buildings in a cold drizzle.

They were there to follow Timo Lange, 30, dressed all in black, with a hint of stubble on his chin, to learn how influence peddlers ply their trade in the German capital. Mr. Lange is a campaigner for the nonprofit group LobbyControl, which began giving the tours in 2009, to unexpected success for such a seemingly wonky subject.

This year the group has given 144 tours for about 3,400 participants, who pay around $13 (half price for students). The tour’s success reflects an electorate that, by American standards, has a low tolerance for money in politics.

Holly Walker has announced:

The Green Party is pleased that the Government Administration Committee will take extra time to carefully consider the Lobbying Disclosure Bill.

…

The committee has been granted a six month extension until July next year before reporting the Bill back to the House. This extension is to allow Ms Walker to develop further options for the committee’s consideration, taking into account the issues raised in submissions.

“This extension means the committee can really give the Bill the time it deserves to ensure that the lobbying disclosure regime is the best it can be,” said Ms Walker.

…

“I will prepare some options for the committee to consider to ensure we work towards a lobbying disclosure regime appropriate for New Zealand’s political context.

Oh come on, despite all the offers to help, Walker is wasting Parliament’s time for what my sources tell me will be an complete re-write of the Bill.  Select Committees are supposed to be for tweaking and reviewing a Bill not bending over backward to do a job of an incompetent MP.

Might I suggest some questions the Gallery should be asking:

• Will Holly Walker ensure that there is another round of public submissions on the new “redrafted” Bill?
• Will Holly Walker take up any of the offers from more qualified people to help redraft the Bill or will she continue the “pedestrian MP knows best” attitude?
• Will Holly Walker commit to not choosing favoured/left-wing submitters and blocking oral submissions she does not like?

The Securities Industry Association are not the first group to warn that Holly’s bill will actually encourage the very type of professional lobbyists she supposedly wants to avoid.  Her bill creates a regulatory monopoly.  Many who lobby part time will be put off by the new law or scared that they will fall foul of it.

Maybe she’s setting up a lobbying industry so she has a job to retire into?

MP Holly Walker’s Lobbying Disclosure Bill could set off a lobbying boom, the Securities Industry Association (SIA) warns.

The SIA, which represents stock brokers, said it supported Walker’s objective – increased transparency around lobbying activity and increased trust in political decision-making – but the approach taken in the bill would have the unintended consequence of forcing companies and interest groups to engage the services of professional lobbyists.

The bill was incorrectly focused on the entities that should be captured or exempted, rather than on information to be disclosed and the most efficient and effective way to ensure that the information was disclosed, the SIA said.

Holly Walker is taking a flogging from all sides with Dave Henderson of the Association of Non-Governmental Organisations of Aotearoa Do-Gooders Socialist Association of Aotearoa giving her a good slapping.

Ms Walker’s presentation to the select committee considering the bill contains four guiding principles:

1. Lobbying is a legitimate activity.

2. Open and accessible government and Parliament is vital.

. The public has a right to know who is lobbying MPs on which issues.

4. A lobbying disclosure regime needs to be practical, workable and fair.

No-one can disagree with these, but the bill before the House does not meet the last of the four. It is a sledgehammer for a nut.

What is being proposed doesn’t differentiate between the so-called bad lobbyists and those organisations and individuals who are participating in a democratic right to discuss and put forward a particular point of view.

No lobbying regime in the world has been able to come up with a justifiable definition of “good” vs “evil” lobbying.  Holly’s real motive to have a law that enables her to publicly target groups she doesn’t like when they meet with her political opponents.

What is being proposed doesn’t differentiate between the so-called bad lobbyists and those organisations and individuals who are participating in a democratic right to discuss and put forward a particular point of view.

This latter group accounts for 95 per cent of the lobbying that takes place in New Zealand.

These discussions are often about informing MPs and officials on the impact of particular policies and issues in our communities. These are crucial to a functioning democracy.

The bill is in danger of stifling these discussions through bureaucracy. It appears to be written around an assumption that a few unidentified suppliers of independent advice are somehow acting inappropriately and thus need to be regulated.

Even the lefties are effectively calling the Lobbying Bill undemocratic.

This bill will keep charities and community organisations from fulfilling their purpose as they spend their time, our donations and taxpayer money creating lists of all their interactions with MPs.

How can this work when many people expect to see their MP at the supermarket on a Saturday or at the school fair on a Sunday?

Interestingly, this morning the tip-line has learned that Holly has sought to block certain vocal critics of her Bill from presenting to the select committee.

More on that to come…

Scott Yorke has found a way to fix the lobbying bill…only make evil people register:

People on the left worry about the ability of big corporations to get their way with politicians, while those on the right probably stress over the malign influence of unions and teachers.

Do we then require every person or organisation that wants to lobby an MP to register as a lobbyist?

No, don’t be ridiculous! We need only make the evil ones do it.

Yes, I can anticipate your objection. How do we decide who is evil, you ask?

He has worked out how to tell who the evil people are.

I’ve got that sorted too. In some cases it will be obvious. For example, if someone wants to establish an adventure park on the outskirts of Hamilton where visitors can pay to squash puppies with large mallets, it’s pretty clear that their people will need to register as lobbyists if they want to go talking to ministers about changing animal welfare rules.

Similarly, the representatives of any large multinational whose goods kill millions of people a year even when taken as recommended, are probably going to have to register as lobbyists if they want to engage with politicians about maintaining sales of their death-bringing products.

In situations where there is doubt about the evil of the lobbyists concerned, my plan would require them to register at a separate Register of Possibly Evil Lobbyists. Anyone who put their name on the Register of Possibly Evil Lobbyists would then have 20 working days to submit an application for a hearing before a special board, which would consider whether or not the lobbyists concerned were genuinely evil, or just misunderstood nice folks.

This Evil Lobbyist Consideration Administration Board (ELCAB) would make its determination, and applicants would have the right to appeal adverse decisions to a higher body, the Evil Lobbyist Consideration Appeal Authority (ELCAA). An appeal to the High Court would be allowed from that body.

Following a determination that a lobbyist is evil, the lobbyist would then register on the Register of Lobbyists.

Don’t laugh, Holly Walker is probably amending her bill as we speak.

Holly Walker scoffed at the offer of Jordan Williams to fix her silly lobbying bill. She should have a snack of humble pie and pick up the phone and give Jordan a call.

A bill seeking to make lobbying of politicians more transparent could have a chilling effect on communication with members of Parliament says Mary Harris, the Clerk of Parliament.

She said the bill would affect daily dealings of MPs and their staff with the public “and potentially could discourage constituents from engaging with members and their offices”.

Because it covered communication with MPs and their staff it could have “significant implications” for the House in the performance of its functions.

She had concerns that what she called the broad definition of lobbying activity in the bill could have “a potential chilling effect on open communication” with MPs.

“Many hundreds of individuals and organisations have contact with members and ministers every day, both in relation to matters of public policy and also in respect of personal grievances and concerns,” she said in her submission yesterday to the government administration select committee considering the bill.

Ms Harris also believed requiring lobbyists to register under law could give them a status or pre-eminent standing in policymaking processes.

“Such standing might be desirable in larger democracies, where the size of the body politic means not all who wish to participate in parliamentary processes can do so,” she said. “This is not the case in New Zealand.”

…

Ms Harris said the bill as worded meant she and her staff were not exempted. She suggested the bill might be better limited to the decision-making processes of ministers rather than all MPs.

She also questioned the Auditor-General developing lobbying codes in light of her “existing constitutional relationships with members, ministers and the House and her role in auditing the public sector”.

The bill is a dog’s breakfast that has been sicked up on the carpet. It should be substantially amended or withdrawn entirely. At the very least Holly should call Jordan.

The Greens need to sort themselves out.  I outlined the ways the Greens have annoyed Labour over the Lobbying Disclosures Bill but it appears the Greens have been niggling away at Labour for awhile now.   At first I thought they might be learning something by getting Meteria to front the Lobbying Bill – at least some of the time.

From what I hear the Greens need to learn a few things around the Beltway.  There is no such thing as something for nothing, especially in politics.  It appears that Meteria in particular is being a mega bitch to several Labour MPs and staffers.  The way I hear it is that one MP even used the ‘S’ word to describe the Greens. Yes, that is right… sanctimonious .  The Greens are still of the belief that they do not have to play the political game because their reason for being is of a higher power.  They are so right that everyone should just do what they say… and no reciprocal relationship should ensue.

It is no wonder Labour are blocking the Lobbying Disclosures Bill so hard.

Oh dear, it looks like Holly Walker has been muzzled by her own party simply because debate on the bill has run away from her… and she can’t catch up.

Yep, Metiria has taken over.  It’s no surprise as Walker has done a woeful job of putting together consensus from other parties on this issue.  When the bill was pulled from the ballot, Walker had the best start possible with the PM saying:

“I’m fundamentally not opposed to a bill that might register what lobbyists are up to”

It has become increasingly clear that it is a crap bill and Walker has no idea how to balance different parties’ amendments to make it a better bill.  It means that Labour have turned on her and the bill will die a horrible death unless someone uses some real political skill,

The irony of the situation is that Walker needs to learn some good old fashioned lobbying skills.  Perhaps she could go have a chat to Jordan Williams and Mark Unsworth who can school her up on how to work with others for the greater good.