Your Daily Ten@10 - 2026/038

This is edition 2026/038 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!

• 💰 Corporate lobbyists play a central but opaque role in New Zealand politics, with one insider claiming firms can often change government decisions for around $250,000, highlighting the high price of access.
• ⚖️ A legal dispute revealed that lobbying firm Silvereye charged property developer Gillies Group $3.27 million as a “success fee” for influencing the Labour Government to purchase land at Plimmerton Farm for state housing.
• 🏘️ The deal involved 587 lots and 19 apartments sold to Kāinga Ora, with the lobbying reportedly conducted by Conor English (brother of former PM Bill English) over an extended period.
• 🧾 Originally structured as a 1.5–2% success fee, the final invoice far exceeded early estimates, leading to court action; the High Court refused both Silvereye’s debt demand and its attempt to suppress details, citing public interest in open justice.
• 🔍 Despite the scale of the deal and public money involved, ministerial diaries show no record of meetings with the key players, underscoring how lobbying can occur through officials and Crown entities without public visibility.
• 🗣️ Rival lobbyist Holly Bennett of Awhi criticised success fees tied to public contracts as unethical and noted that countries like Canada have banned such arrangements.
• 📊 Awhi has publicly released a detailed price list for lobbying services — a first in NZ — offering monthly retainers from $1,800 to $15,750, plus fixed-fee products like policy submissions and election manifestos, effectively turning political influence into a transparent shopping catalogue.
• 🗳️ Election services include drafting “Election Manifestos” and “Briefings to Incoming Ministers,” making explicit how corporations can pay professionals to shape party platforms and post-election priorities.
• 📉 Compared to international standards, NZ has weak safeguards: no lobbying register, no mandatory code of conduct, and limited revolving-door restrictions — with the OECD ranking the country 35th out of 38 for regulating influence.
• 🚨 The broader concern is democratic integrity: when lobbyists’ fees are tied to the size of government contracts, they are incentivised to maximise public spending, often out of public view — raising the question of how many other multi-million-dollar influence deals remain hidden.