17 October 2012

Approach to lobbying regulation too heavy-handed

The Public Service Association agrees that while there is a need for some regulation around political lobbying, the Lobbying Disclosure Bill goes too far.

The PSA today presented its submission on the Bill to parliament’s Government Administration Committee.

PSA National Secretary Brenda Pilott told the committee that while the PSA supports the principles of the Bill, it would like to see a more light-handed approach.

“There’s no doubt that commercial lobbying has stepped up significantly in recent years and there needs to be transparency and accountability. New Zealand has a very strong international reputation for being comparatively corruption-free and while there is no room for complacency, the question is whether the problems are big enough to warrant such comprehensive regulation.”

The PSA opposes the reporting and disclosure regime as proposed in the Bill, saying its definition of lobbying is too broad, it risks dampening down genuine advocacy and would be difficult to manage.

Instead it is proposing a lobbying regime based on compulsory registration and a code of conduct for lobbyists, administered by the Office of the Auditor-General.

“This would not require such a burdensome system of monitoring and reporting all contact between lobbyists and Ministers, their staff and MPs,” says Brenda Pilott.

The PSA is also recommending that senior public servants, who are often the target for lobbying activities, be included in the legislation along with a ‘cooling off’ period before former public office holders or senior public servants can register as lobbyists.

Brenda Pilott says “overall there needs to be more public debate and significant changes to the Bill for it to become a workable and effective piece of legislation. We would not want to see it proceed in its current form.”

And she adds “it was good to hear from Labour MPs at the select committee that Labour is no longer seeking to exclude unions from any lobbying legislation as the PSA had never sought any such exemption.”

ENDS

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