Business Political Activity in New Zealand from 1990 to 2005

Keywords: New Zealand business associations; business politics; interest groups; lobbying; neoliberalism; policy change.

If you are interested in the political lobbying of business groups in New Zealand then check out my article on this subject. The article describes the political activity of New Zealand’s major business associations from 1990 to 2005. Two major themes are clearly evident in the political activity of business during this period. On one side, business vigorously opposed any perceived ‘rolling back’ of the neoliberal policy reforms of 1984 to 1993. On the other, business just as vigorously promoted further reforms that it considered to be in its interests, which it equated with those of the nation as a whole. Government performance in economic management and policy-making was consistently assessed in terms of whether or not, and the extent to which, government was maintaining, advancing or rolling back key elements of neoliberal policy reform. Two features of business political activity from 1990 to 2005 standout above all others: first, the extent of the neoliberal consensus over all major policy issues; and second, the marked continuity in advocating the retention and extension of the neoliberal policy regime for the entire period under review.

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http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1177083X.2006.9522417