Tex Edwards calls for former National minister Anne Tolley to resign as Transparency International chairperson

Wednesday, 3 June 2026

Anti-monopolist Tex Edwards has called for the chairperson of Transparency International New Zealand to resign as he continues his fight against the power of corporate lobbyists.

On Tuesday evening Edwards, who is the founder of 2degrees and the founder of the Monopoly Watch pressure group, called for the resignation of ex-National Cabinet minister Anne Tolley, saying she could not credibly hold power to account when she was “a product of the very political class that has allowed unregulated lobbying to corrode New Zealand’s democracy”.

Edwards’ call came just hours before Transparency International was due to publish its own call for greater transparency of lobbying and political donations ahead of November’s general election.

Edwards was reacting to media coverage of the successful lobbying of Fonterra and Z Energy to get the Government to pass laws banning civil lawsuits over climate-damaging emissions from polluting companies.

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Transparency International chief executive Julie Haggie said the organisation would not comment on Edwards’ call for Tolley to resign, or for Transparency International’s government funding to be suspended pending a governance review.

The Post has asked for comment from Tolley, who is overseas.

Tolley is not paid for chairing the board of Transparency International, having joined it in late 2020 after she left Parliament, where her last role was deputy speaker.

She was seen as a good fit for the Transparency International board because she had led GOPAC at Parliament, which was the New Zealand chapter of the Global Organisation of Parliamentarians against Corruption.

Following accusations of bullying by MPs, Tolley led a cross-party working group responsible for developing a new Parliamentary Workplace Code of Conduct.

Edwards, who called out corporate lobbyists last month at select committee hearings arguing over the future power of the Commerce Commission, wants to see New Zealand institute a lobbying register, and for ministers to be banned from taking jobs related to their ministerial portfolios for several years after leaving office.

Transparency International has similar views, and wants expanded transparency for donations to political parties.

On Wednesday, it released a statement, which said: “The recent revelation of unrecorded discussions between farming lobbyists and government ministers is an exact example of why change is urgently needed to raise standards of political integrity and maintain trust in the practice of democracy.”

Tolley was quoted in the statement saying: “New Zealand is well behind our country peers in regulating lobbying. We have seen the results over several parliamentary terms: where industries and other interest groups with deep pockets, friends in high places and easy access to power are unevenly influencing government policy. All without public visibility.”

Edwards said the failure to improve lobbying transparency happened under both Labour and National-led governments, despite the Green Party championing change, and even National calling in 2022 for stand-down periods for people moving between Parliament and industry.

Edwards said: “This is not a specific party problem. All governments have both presided over three failed attempts to introduce lobbyist regulation each time lobbied out of existence by the interests it would have constrained.

“New Zealanders who change their government at the ballot box find themselves with the same lobbyists controlling policy on the other side. In an election year, this makes voting feel futile,” he said.

“Corporations have the right to make their case to government. But it must be recorded, disclosed, and subject to enforceable rules. Until it is, New Zealand’s democracy is for sale and the price is set by those who can afford the lawyers,” Edwards said.

National’s 2022 call followed Labour Cabinet minister Kris Faafoi accepting a job to head up the Insurance Council, which is a political lobbying group for general insurers who provide house, car and contents insurance, as well as insurance for businesses.

The party has not moved to implement a stand-down period since winning office in 2023.

The most famous case of a minister moving to a lucrative contract in the private sector shortly after leaving office was former Prime Minister Sir John Key, who joined the board of ANZ’s NZ subsidiary less than a year after leaving office.

However, there has also been movement the other way, including Andrew Hoggard, the president of Federated Farmers leaving the role to go into Parliament to become Minister for Food Safety and Associate Minister of Agriculture within a year.

Edwards said the UK mandated a three-year stand-down period for ministers leaving office. In Australia the stand-down period was 18 months, and in Canada it was five years.

Transparency International wants the veil lifted on political donations.

Haggie said: “Recent media analysis has shown political donations connected to fast-track legislation. Real-time transparency would show that before the election, as happens in Queensland. Other controls include limitations on anonymous donations (which are on the increase); and caps on donations, to limit the influence of individual donors.”

She said: “Corporate donors should have to disclose the beneficial owners of their companies (who controls the companies) not just legal owners or directors. This would help deter foreign actors routing donations through domestic proxies. New Zealand absolutely needs a register of beneficial ownership to shed light on those who hide illicit funds in multi layered financial structures.”