In technical terms, government relations is the process of influencing public and government policy at all levels (local, regional, national and even global). It involves the advocacy of an interest that is affected, actually or potentially, by the decisions of government leaders.
In real terms, it is most commonly seen as getting in front of the Legislature (Members of Parliament), the Executive (Ministers) and Officials (Public Servants) to advocate for support on a kaupapa (issue) or matter.
Essentially, yes. Lobbying, advocacy, government relations, political engagement: they are different terms for the same activity. Effective government relations is actioned through a variety of different mechanisms, at a range of different levels, depending on your kaupapa.
To lobby well is to know how to appropriately leverage a range of engagement opportunities and best land your kaupapa in the eyes of decision makers so they know who you are, what you do, why you’re approaching them, and how you can help them (or how they can help you!).
Knowing what to say when you’re in the room is just as important as getting in the room in the first place.
Government relations advice can be useful to a diverse range of organisations or kaupapa. Government relations support is most commonly used to:
- influence policy decisions and be part of policy discussions
- provide feedback on current challenges
- support activities around sector positioning and leadership
- have a say through proposed regulatory change
- be top of mind when decision makers are creating or considering funding opportunities.
If you need assistance in any of these areas, do not hesitate to get in touch with us.
Realistically speaking you can lobby for anything; whether it is of any interest to Parliament, political leaders and the media is another story.
Awhi will advise you – at no cost – as to whether we believe that utilising our services could reasonably assist you in achieving the outcome you seek.
Fees vary across the industry. The sector is unregulated, which means that you must take extra care to ensure you are getting value for money.
Awhi operates in line with the Lobbying Principles. We launched these in Paengawhāwhā (April) 2024 and made them freely available to anyone who seeks to influence government, policy or legislation in Aotearoa New Zealand. These principles apply to all Awhi employees and all work carried out by us, for clients.
The Integrity principle includes a commitment to charge a fee that is fair and reasonable. Awhi will always stand behind the quality and professional nature of the services we offer, and client satisfaction is of utmost priority. Further details are outlined in our Terms of Engagement.
Awhi is transparent in its fee model. We have a tiered-retainer model for those seeking ongoing support (our minimum engagement term is four months). At all times you will have access to senior consultants who have experience working at the heart of both the legislative and executive branches of government. Depending upon your servicing needs, we can also offer after hours advice, kanohi kitea (in person) support and as it happens crisis management on political issues that matter the most.
Awhi also believes it’s important you know what you’re paying for, so we offer regular reporting on the work done for you. This is inline with our Integrity principle which includes a commitment to charge a fee that is fair and reasonable.
If you’re interested in government relations and communications support but cannot yet commit to retainer work, we have created two unique offerings: the Spectrum Sweep and the Comms Compass. A bit about these unique offerings are in the FAQs that follow.
If you are apprehensive about exploring government relations and comms support, you can sign up to our free newsletter, PolitiPal. This monthly pānui covers everything from legislation being considered by the House to interesting political takes in the news you may not have seen.
The Spectrum Sweep is a personalised, pick up and go political engagement plan that helps organisations begin and execute their engagement, in-house. It has been designed to help organisations get a clear line of sight on what government relations avenues to prioritise, as well as provide some context around messaging and competitive landscape (noting that everyday, hundreds of people are approaching the government to lobby their kaupapa).
A Spectrum Sweep takes approximately four weeks from commission to completion. You can read the Code Avengers case study to hear how they used the Spectrum Sweep to kick start their government relations strategy.
The Comms Compass is a written communications overview of the media landscape, designed to give organisations an oversight of how the media has shaped the public perception of their industry. An abundance of news content is available across multiple platforms which are accessible 24/7, so having a clear direction for where and when your media content should go is key to successful public relations.
In light of this, the Comms Compass includes some context around messaging and the competitive landscape and also provides a media engagement stocktake to help steer you in the right direction for your public relations, and is accompanied by an issue specific overview of the current media climate, as well as public relations opportunities and risks to be aware of.
At Awhi, we love what we do. It is why we have been vehement champions for change within our industry.
As one of the fastest growing firms in the country, we know that it is those who entrust us with their kaupapa who make us what we are. Therefore, those we represent–not those we lobby–are at the heart of everything we do.
If you work with us you can expect transparent communication with high integrity individuals working within a kaupapa Māori organisation, which prides itself on exceeding expectations rather than just meeting them.
Āe! Yes! In New Zealand the sector is unregulated, which means that you must be confident in those from whom you are tendering advice. We chose to remove the reputational guesswork and launched our Lobbying Principles at www.lobbyist.nz in Paengawhāwhā (April) 2024. There are 12 principles across six areas of focus and they are freely available to anyone who seeks to influence government, policy or legislation in Aotearoa.
The main objective of these principles is to outline best practice expectations for lobbying, so everyone who aims to influence government decisions understands their role in maintaining public trust in the integrity of our democracy.
We encourage everyone interested in working with us to read our Lobbying Principles as they apply to all Awhi employees and all work carried out by us, for clients.
Our mission is to make engagement simple. Whether that be political, stakeholder or media engagement, we exist to break down barriers and open up access to traditionally inaccessible processes.
The lobbying industry is infamous for being a tool for those with the deepest pockets; stakeholder engagement is often ad hoc and piecemeal; media engagement can be the same commentators over and over again, regardless of expertise.
Awhi exists to change that. We want these expert services to be something everyone can access; where there is equal opportunity to be heard.
In recognition of the Lobbying Principle of transparency, Awhi proactively discloses the identity of organisations, individuals and foreign states being represented. As at Thursday 3 October 2024, Awhi represents:
- Tuatahi First Fibre
- Restaurant Association of New Zealand
- Kookiri ki Taamakimakaurau Trust
- Te Piringa Hapū
- Ngāti Manuhiri Settlement Trust
- Te Arawa Lakes Trust
- Ario (3KM Technology)
- Portacom
- Mātauranga Iwi Leaders Group
- Banqer
- Diane Hunt
We embraced the name Awhi in Pipiri (June) 2021 to better represent the mahi we do across the motu (country). Of course, there is a tika (correct) way to do this, so first we commissioned a paper about the history of the kupu Māori (Māori word) awhi, its modern uses and its context in a kaupapa Māori business. This paper is freely available for anyone to read at anytime, however we do not own the mātauraunga, it is the work of the author Dr Vincent Olsen-Reeder.
At its core, awhi means to embrace, enfold, surround, nurture and support; this is how Awhi provides its advocacy–we are invested in the kaupapa of our clients.
There is no right size to be, you don’t even need to be a business - you could be inquiring on behalf of a trust, a post settlement governance entity (PSGE), an incorporated society, a charity, even an individual - government relations can be of value to kaupapa (matters) of all shape and size. However it is important to know what you want to achieve and why. Before you start, Awhi will work with you to identify why you want to lobby, and what you want to achieve.
Lobbying can take on many forms. We are big believers in whakawhanaungatanga (relationship building) and adopt this as a central pou (pillar) in everything we do. This can be best understood by the following kōrero that our founder Holly heard when working with her people from Te Arawa: “stay easy on the relationship, stay hard on the kaupapa.” This saying both inspires and guides how we work.
Choosing Awhi, means choosing a firm that will remain alongside you throughout the entire process: from determining your issues and mapping out a pathway to achieve outcomes, to implementation and productive engagement.
Awhi kaimahi come from a broad range of backgrounds and experiences, meaning we hold a wide range of skills and expertise outside what is considered traditional lobbying. The Awhi team may provide support and advice to you on areas including but not limited to:
- communications advice including strategy and crisis comms
- the passage of legislation and submission support
- engagement with Māori and te Tiriti-centric policy design
- public relations consultancy services.
Have a chat with us about your issues and what you are hoping to achieve through engagement with policy makers. Remember that sometimes the smallest of organisations can have the most powerful message.
Āe! Yes, we are! We believe it is a small but meaningful thing we can do to support the lowest wage earners in our economy.
Click on the ‘Let’s Kōrero’ button at the top of the page and fill out our enquiry form, which is the first step in your journey with Awhi. We will review the information you provide and organise a time to kōrero. Thank you for exploring lobbying and communication support with Awhi.
