Relationships of Influence? An Institutional Ethnography of Alcohol, Food, Gambling, and Tobacco Lobbying in Aotearoa New Zealand

Abstract

Background: Despite a growing body of international literature on how corporate entities and public health communities attempt influence public health policy, little is known about these activities in Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ). Unlike most developed countries, lobbying is unregulated and primarily unseen. Aims: To explicate how and where public health actors and industry actors work to influence alcohol, food, gambling, and tobacco policymaking in Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ) through direct interactions, and how this work is institutionally coordinated to happen as it does. Examining the spaces or settings in which political insiders and outside interests interact can help to reveal the power dynamics that exist in these political relationships. Methods: This study drew on institutional ethnography, a critical method of inquiry. Data were obtained through 21 interviews with current and former MPs, Ministers, public servants, and political journalists, and well-established public health experts, and analysis of pertinent texts, such as legislation, and parliamentary rules. Texts and interviews were analysed to identify and reveal the institutional complex of direct lobbying in NZ. Results: Industry actors dominate the lobbying space, building long-term relationships with political insiders through repeated, friendly, and low-pressure interactions. These occur in a range of informal settings such as hospitality-related events where there is ample opportunity for social interaction. Political informants spoke of receiving little guidance about these interactions. Moreover, textual analysis highlighted ways in which the NZ political system organises these to occur with little public oversight. By contrast, public health experts strive to meaningfully engage with politicians in official policy settings. Their policy involvement is established by standardising texts such as their contracts for government funding. Discussion: This research documents the crucial ways in which industry actors use relationship building to influence political decisions. Aotearoa New Zealand needs to enact comprehensive lobbying regulations. Without this, industry actors will continue to dominate public health political decision-making.