Lobby for Good

10,500 people submitted on Auckland’s housing plan. Nearly 65% opposed it. So… will that stop it? Short answer: probably not. Because in NZ, submissions aren’t votes. They’re feedback. Councils can (and often do) proceed anyway - legally. We’ve been looking at this in Tauranga too. When public pushback got too strong, the approach changed: 👉 instead of forcing change directly 👉 they changed ownership and avoided the fight altogether Now in Auckland, it’s the opposite: 👉 let everyone speak 👉 but keep decision-making unchanged Different method. Same outcome. You’re involved, but you’re not in control and that’s the uncomfortable reality. You can read our latest article here: open.substack.com/pub/lobbyforgo…

You can read the OAG letter confirming they declined to investigate these deals here: oag.parliament.nz/2025/tauranga-… @MurfittTauranga

90 Devonport Road's (new council office) value jumped from $8.5 m to $114 m in a split second in another Tauranga City Council deal under the Commissioners. Do ratepayers deserve to know why such a seemingly valuable piece of land was not put out to a competitive market? This is about transparency, accountability and democracy not the developers. @BarryYoungNZ @samuffindellmp @LobbyForGoodNZ @theplatform_nz @SeanPlunket @radionz

The scandal around Paul Eagle is getting worse. But here’s the real problem: It’s not unique. A council spends $400k+ on consultants 👉 no tender 👉 no clear outputs 👉 no real accountability Sound familiar? We’ve seen the same pattern in Tauranga. Different place. Different people. Same system. Pre-existing relationships Closed processes “Strategy” and “engagement” instead of real delivery And by the time questions get asked - the money’s gone This isn’t just about one scandal. It’s about how public money can quietly move into what is basically an influence economy - and nobody steps in because technically, everything looks “fine.” That’s the problem. 👉 You don’t need corruption for the outcome to look exactly like it. Until New Zealand deals with: - lobbying rules - revolving door politics - and real independent oversight this will keep happening. Just with different names. Read our latest article here: open.substack.com/pub/lobbyforgo…

Whatever side of politics people sit on, conversations like this go beyond party lines. At the heart of it is something many people recognise in real life - when someone with power, money, reputation, or influence is involved, speaking out can feel incredibly risky. People worry about their credibility, their jobs, their families, and whether they’ll be believed. That dynamic isn’t political. It’s human. And many people have experienced versions of it in workplaces, communities, and relationships. The more we talk about it and support people who speak up, the harder it becomes for silence to protect harm. Enough is enough.

How a global health emergency became the most profitable moment in pharmaceutical history and the uncomfortable intersection of lobbying, public policy, and pandemic profits. In every crisis, two things move faster than anything else - power and money. The COVID pandemic was no exception. Governments expanded emergency powers, billions of dollars moved through public health systems, and pharmaceutical companies raced to develop vaccines and treatments at unprecedented speed. But as the crisis unfolded, another question emerged - one that still hasn’t been fully answered: Who was influencing the decisions being made behind the scenes? Read about it here: open.substack.com/pub/lobbyforgo…

@grok is this true?

So Paddy Gower @patrickgowernz has put out a video apologising for his conduct during Covid. Five years after the fact... Now that the dust has settled. Now that it’s no longer career-ending to admit you might have got something wrong. Now that it’s… safe. And even then… the apology is pretty light. He admits he crossed a journalistic line, but then says if he went back, he’d probably do it again because getting people vaccinated was “important”. Which sort of tells us all we need to know. During the most divisive period many of us can remember in this country, journalists were meant to be doing their job. Asking questions. Testing claims. Digging. Digging some more! Giving people the information they needed to make decisions in a climate of enormous fear and uncertainty, and amongst a boatload of ‘nudging’. Instead, a good chunk of the media decided their job was to help run the campaign. They received their cheerleader costumes in the post and couldn’t squeeze into them fast enough! Not only did they shut down debate, but they mocked people who had concerns. They amplified the worst stereotypes about anyone who wasn’t on board. They received public funding to create “documentaries exposing” people like us and all our “misinformation”. They took complicated medical and ethical questions and boiled the whole thing down to a nice tidy little story for the six o’clock news: good citizens on one side, selfish idiots on the other. We even got a special name. Well, one of many, actually. Covidiots. Antivaxxers. Scum. And in Paddy’s case, he quite literally got up on stage and danced around promoting the product, ruining an entire generation’s happy memories of Telethons. Crack open the cringe. Then there was the sting operation on the Canterbury doctor who was pretty much the devil for helping people to obtain exemptions during the mandates. At the time, it was framed as some heroic act of journalism, exposing a rogue doctor undermining the rules… using an “undercover” tradie with a spy pen. What it actually did was pour petrol on a fire. It painted anyone seeking an exemption as dishonest and dangerous, at a time when people were already under extraordinary pressure from our Kindness™ PM and her mandates. Now, years later, he says he understands why people hated him for it. That people who were suspicious of the vaccine were treated harshly by society and by the media. Brilliant deduction, Sherlock. People lost jobs, careers, businesses, and relationships. Families were split down the middle. People who experienced adverse reactions struggled to be believed or even listened to. Entire groups of New Zealanders were pushed out of public life for months on end, with no end in sight. Some even lost the zest for life... Those harms weren’t hard to foresee at the time. None of this hindsight nonsense. Plenty of people were warning about them while it was all happening. You’d have to be deaf, dumb and blind not to have seen it. But the media didn’t want to hear. And the uncomfortable truth is that plenty of journalists knew something didn’t feel right at the time… but they went along with it anyway. They enjoyed leaping around in their Pfizer tutus, helping enforce the narrative. And now, years later, some of the same people who helped create that climate are starting to say they regret parts of it. I suppose that’s something. I am usually one to see the bright side of events like this. And, anger aside, I can. I do. This is an indication of another shift in public thinking, perception, and what is “safe” to now talk about. And for that I am grateful. But apologies delivered years after the fact can’t undo harm, and they don’t restore trust. The damage to public trust in institutions, including the media and the health system, is obvious to anyone paying attention. We’ve been doing our own digging in this space, and some people are going to be surprised at the results. (Bites News readers will be the first to know! biteme.news ) So, close to tears, Paddy has told us all about the abuse he still suffers to this day from people disgusted by his sellout behaviour. No one likes to receive abuse. But he was part of Team NZ Media, who made sure that was precisely what happened to those of us who declined the experimental injection... You have to wonder what exactly we’re meant to do with this now. Because if a journalist knows they’re crossing an ethical line, and does it anyway because they believe the cause is important enough… then the obvious question is why anyone should trust them not to do the same thing again the next time there’s a crisis and the pressure is on. The simple answer is: we can’t. New Zealand’s media cooked their own goose the moment they pulled on the cheerleader outfit. And I think our Paddy is only just beginning to realise that fact. Turns out trust is a lot harder to rebuild than a media career in a tiny country... People remember who was asking questions… and who was doing the dancing. youtu.be/058rn6EoTVc?si…

@TheWarRoomNZ 12 months at home? 🤬💔

#NZ : Former children’s entertainer, Warkworth man Regan Highfield, 25, sentenced - Regan possessed thousands of child sexual abuse images — shared more than 1000 of them with other offenders — sentenced to 12 months’ home detention. stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360940…

A landslide hits Mauao. A resident asks for the Hazard Register. Council refuses. On 26 February 2026, Tauranga City Council declined to release the Hazard Register for Mount Beachside Campground under LGOIMA. A hazard register is a basic safety document. It records known risks and how they are managed. Robert Coe did what more people should do. He asked to see the record. You do not have to agree with every conclusion to value the question. Democracy is not passive. It depends on people who read documents, file requests, and test decisions. Sometimes officials are right. Sometimes process breaks down. You only find out by looking. If you care about how risk is managed on public land, start paying attention. Ask for documents. Read the responses. Share what you find. That is how accountability works. Read Robert’s post here: facebook.com/share/p/17LUN8…

Today’s substack article got us thinking.... If systemic failures are identified, how do we ensure accountability sits at the top - not just more regulation at the bottom? What do you think meaningful accountability should look like in New Zealand? We’ve just put out a press release in hopes it starts a national conversation that we believe deserves to be heard. Substack here: open.substack.com/pub/lobbyforgo… Press Release below. #nzpol #nzpolitics #governance #christchurchearthquakes #chch #CTVBuilding #accountability

15 years ago today, 115 people died in the CTV building collapse. A Royal Commission found serious deficiencies. No prosecution followed. Why does accountability at the highest levels so often disappear behind “legal thresholds” and “operational independence”? New piece 👇 open.substack.com/pub/lobbyforgo…

This is the final part of our Illusion of Consent series. It began with a land sale. It ends with a landslide. Part 6 explains why “independent reviews” aren’t enough and why families affected by Mount Maunganui deserve real accountability now. 💔 👇 open.substack.com/pub/lobbyforgo…

@Geiger_Capital 😳

It’s not just daycares… Somalis in Minnesota have been setting up fake medical centers and fraudulently diagnosing their children with autism to systematically steal billions of taxpayer dollars through Medicaid. Medicaid autism claims: 2018 - $3 million 2023 - $399 million

It’s good to see this being covered. Thank you @RCR_NZ

Most decisions that affect land, spending, and policy in New Zealand doesn’t happen out in the open. They’re shaped early - through quiet influence, behind closed doors. Right now, New Zealand has: - No public register of lobbyists - No clear record of who meets with ministers or officials - No consistent way to see how decisions are shaped That gap has real consequences. For families. For businesses and For trust in the system. As we head into 2026, we’re thankful for the people backing Lobby for Good. Your support lets us keep watching the landscape, and building better ways for people to speak up early, not after it’s too late. We also want to acknowledge the passing of Sean Kelly on 8 December. Sean worked for years alongside Erika Harvey in Tauranga’s Marine Precinct. His death is a painful reminder that when systems fall short, people carry the cost. Our thoughts are with his family and everyone impacted. Read more here - and see why we’re focused on making influence visible in 2026: open.substack.com/pub/lobbyforgo…

Did Tauranga’s councillors really have no choice on Te Manawataki o Te Papa? Spoiler: they did. - They could have scaled the project back - They could have challenged 40 years of future costs - They could have asked harder questions Instead, they backed the sunk cost excuse. Now ratepayers are locked in for decades. Who’s watching the numbers? Who’s challenging the advice? #nzpol #NZPolitics #localgovernment #tauranganz #tauranga #TaurangaCityCouncil

We are heartbroken by the news we heard on Tuesday about our friend and colleague Sean Kelly. Sean was a fierce advocate for Tauranga’s marine industry, and we worked closely together on many issues, especially Tauranga’s Marine Precinct. Beneath his Navy background and that tough exterior was a man driven by loyalty and a deep sense of responsibility. He fought hard for what he believed in. He protected people who felt unheard. He stayed steady when the pressure around him grew. That was the Sean we worked with, and the Sean our community will remember. Those of us who worked alongside him are shaken by this news. It highlights how much the work we do, and the decisions made in our city, affect real people, real families, and real livelihoods. These moments remind us to treat each other with care and to recognise the weight many are carrying within our community. I have pulled together a few clips of Sean speaking over the years for those who may not have realised just how long he has been working in this space, or the kind of person I had the privilege of knowing during that time. All our thoughts are with Sean’s family, his children, his mum and everyone who loved him. Please hold them in yours at this time too. Rest in peace my friend. Thank you for standing up for us and alongside me for almost a decade. You'll be missed. – @ErikaHarveyNZ #Tauranga #TaurangaMarinePrecinct #nzpol #localgovernmentnz @investigatemag @centrist_nz @MurfittTauranga @nzfirst @NZNationalParty @actparty @nzlabour @shubzlive @NZFreeSpeech