This is edition 2025/183 of the Ten@10 newsletter.
Hi all,
This is the Ten@10, where I collate and summarise ten news items you generally won't see in the mainstream media.
Enjoy!
1. The mysterious unravelling of a high-profile transparency project
Andrea Vance
- 🕵️ Integrity Institute removed: The Integrity Institute, founded by Bryce Edwards to expose lobbying and political donations, has been deregistered as a charitable trust.
- 🌐 Website wiped: Its “Lobbying and Influence Register” database vanished from its site, with remnants only accessible through Edwards’ Substack.
- 💼 Funding origins: The Institute and related projects at Victoria University were backed by nearly $1 million from philanthropists Grant and Marilyn Nelson’s Gama Foundation.
- 🧩 Delayed research: Two key projects—the Political Integrity Index NZ and the Democracy Project—fell years behind schedule due to staffing issues and legal reviews.
- 🧑🏫 University tension: Victoria University reviewed outputs for defamation risk, while Edwards began operating independently, setting up the Institute as a think-tank.
- ⚖️ Legal and accuracy issues: The Institute faced complaints about errors and potential defamation, including threats of legal action from lobbyists.
- 📰 Media controversy: The Institute gave a grant to Newsroom for a lobbying investigation, prompting Federated Farmers to accuse it of “dirty politics.”
- 🏛️ University distancing: Victoria University clarified it has no relationship with the Institute but expects related research to be published in 2025.
