Summarised by Centrist
Richard Prebble challenges Dr Bryce Edwards’ Democracy Project and Integrity Institute.
Prebble contends the Edwards’ Integrity Institute “is sustained polemics premised on a single idea… that politics, business, and the interaction between them in New Zealand are fundamentally corrupt.”
Prebble accepts that some areas need improvement, such as clearer donation laws, tighter lobbying rules, and better conflict-of-interest standards. Still, he argues that Edwards goes on to cast normal democratic engagement as suspect. “When you label normal democratic behaviour as ‘corrupt’, you corrode the very democracy you claim to defend,” he writes.
He criticises Edwards for framing business lobbying as problematic while treating advocacy from unions, churches, Māori entities, or NGOs as inherently virtuous.
He pushes back on Edwards’ discomfort with political donations. “If a party cannot persuade a single citizen to part with a dollar voluntarily, why should the taxpayer be forced to?” he asks.
Prebble argues the real risk is bureaucratic gatekeeping. He cites the recent scandal involving the Police Minister and emails blocked by officials, saying such behaviour “should alarm every democrat.”
In Prebble’s view, Edwards advocates shifting more decision-making away from elected ministers toward “independent authorities.” He warns that this approach elevates officials while undermining representative politics.
Read more over at Bassett, Brash, and Hide
Image: Bryce Edwards
