Summarised by Centrist
The Integrity Institute has suddenly vanished from New Zealand’s Charitable Trusts Register.
Its Lobbying and Influence Register, which tracked political donations and links between lobbyists, politicians and business figures, has also disappeared from its website.
Charities Services confirmed the deregistration took place on 29 September, less than a year after the institute was incorporated.
The Institute grew out of Edwards’ Democracy Project and Victoria University’s Political Integrity Index NZ, both funded by nearly one million dollars from the Christchurch-based Gama Foundation, run by philanthropists Grant and Marilyn Nelson. The Nelsons were trustees of the charitable trust behind the Institute.
Edwards said he was aware of the deregistration but called it “a question for the trustees.” A senior researcher has recently departed, and progress on the Institute’s projects has stalled.
Documents released under the Official Information Act show the Integrity Index and Democracy Project were years behind schedule, prompting a legal review at Victoria University over defamation and reputational risks. The Nelsons complained in 2025 that about $300,000 had already been spent without a final publication.
The Institute has also faced legal threats from lobbyists and a complaint from the Ministry of Social Development over an earlier wage-subsidy campaign that the ministry described as misleading.
Regulators at MBIE and Charities Services have yet to explain the deregistration.
Read more over at The Post (paywalled)
