Summarised by Centrist
Bryce Edwards has issued a detailed reply to former ACT leader Richard Prebble.
Edwards says Prebble framed him as labelling normal political behaviour as corruption, but argues modern democracies require examining influence well beyond criminal bribery.
“Corruption in advanced democracies rarely looks like a scene from a narco-thriller,” he writes. “It looks like privileged access, the revolving door between the Beehive and lobbying firms, and the quiet tilting of the playing field in favour of vested interests.”
He rebuts Prebble’s definition of corruption as too narrow. Edwards says the focus should be on incentives that distort decision-making. “If we only call it corruption when a law is broken, we let a vast amount of unethical behaviour off the hook.”
He also focuses on the Chris Bishop bridge-funding dispute. Prebble argued it was simply a minister responding to constituents. Edwards counters, “It was a Minister overriding official advice to raid a specific bucket of money for a pet project in his own electorate.”
Edwards rejects the claim that he is selectively critical. “The idea that I give Māori entities a free pass is simply incorrect,” he says, citing his recent critique of John Tamihere and the Waipareira Trust.
Edwards also answers accusations of partisan bias. “During the six years of the Labour-led government, I was constantly accused of aiding the right.”
