Mini-Hoon: Bryce Edwards on councils & lobbyists

In the final week of council elections, I spoke with The Integrity Institute Director Bryce Edwards about the need for more transparency & vigilance around lobbyists & candidates in local democracies.It followed this detailed comment piece from Bryce.We talked about:* the lack of scrutiny in local government;* the influence of lobbying;* the need for greater transparency and integrity in political processes;* the connections between local politicians and corporate lobbyists; and,* the risks of foreign influence.We also talked about the need to:* introduce a lobbyist register, including at local Government level;* probably to be managed by an Electoral Commission, which should also manage local elections; and,* especially as councils start using Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) more intensively.Chapters00:00 - The State of Local Democracy in New Zealand07:02 - The Role of Lobbyists in Local Politics10:47 - Foreign Influence and Local Governance12:57 - Calls for Integrity and Transparency OverhaulSubscribe in full as a paying subscriber for more detail and analysis in the full video and podcasts that go out with my Daily Chorus email newsletters. Paying subscribers support my work being done in the public interest here, and via my appearances on other media such as RNZ & 1News. Paying subscribers also get early and full access to our webinars, our chat room, my morning ‘Early Bird’ post with the full ‘Picks n’ Mixes’ digests of news links, and can comment on articles.Ka kite anoBernard This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thekaka.substack.com/subscribe