Bryce Edwards

1 week ago | democracyproject.substack.com | Bryce Edwards

PARLIAMENT, WEEK IN POLITICS Andrea Vance (Post): Firm owned by Taxpayers’ Union boss behind Green Party attack billboards (paywalled) Bryce Edwards (The Integrity Institute): Dirty Politics 2.0? Lobbying in the Shadows ODT Editorial: Lobbying for lobbying controls (paywalled) ODT: Civis: Orange is a warning light for NZ democracy (paywalled) GoodIdeas: A major campaign to protect democracy gets underway (paywalled) K Gurunathan (Post): The Ugly American is in charge; it’s not so pretty at...

1 week ago | democracyproject.substack.com | Bryce Edwards

One of this week’s political storms has exposed a shadowy operator pulling strings behind controversial attack ads. In early April 2025, Wellingtonians and Aucklanders woke up to giant billboards mimicking Green Party election hoardings. Except these weren’t authorised by the Greens at all. Plastered with Green MP Tamatha Paul’s smiling face and slogans like “Defund the Police”, the posters were clearly designed to shock and outrage.

2 weeks ago | democracyproject.substack.com | Bryce Edwards

Banks in New Zealand have some of the most powerful lobbyists, and we are currently witnessing an illuminating example of how they get their way, with the Government introducing retrospective legislation this week to help two big banks stymie a class action lawsuit from its customers. The Coalition Government is moving to change the law in a way that could let ANZ and ASB off the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation owed to customers.

2 weeks ago | democracyproject.substack.com | Bryce Edwards

DEFENCE, FOREIGN AFFAIRS, TRADE Gordon Campbell (Scoop): On Marketing The Military Threat Posed By China Sarita Davis (Herald): $12 billion defence spend could halve child poverty by 2028 (paywalled) Phil Pennington (RNZ): Access to space systems 'critical on the modern battlefield' Giles Dexter (RNZ): WTF: Weird Tariff Frenzy - what it means for NZ and the world Thomas Manch (Post): Peters says Luxon ‘premature’ to suggest Asia-Pacific, Europe push back on tariffs (paywalled) Dan Brunskill...

2 weeks ago | democracyproject.substack.com | Bryce Edwards

PARLIAMENT, THREATS TO POLITICIANS Russell Palmer (RNZ): Winston Peters declines Benjamin Doyle's invitation to speak directly Andrea Vance and Charlie Mitchell (Post): Businessman behind toxic online Benjamin Doyle campaign (paywalled) Bridie Witton and Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Green MP Benjamin Doyle dismisses social media controversy as ‘baseless, personal’ attack Jamie Ensor (Herald): Green Party MP Benjamin Doyle admits political naivety in refusing to delete social media posts RNZ: I...