Democracies must determine their own future

I’m pleased to announce a major win! 🎉

Thanks now to the courage and foresight of National MP Tim van de Molen, the FIT Bill we've drafted at PILLAR has officially made it into Parliament's Member's Ballot! 🥳 🥳

The Foreign Influence Transparency (FIT) Bill has been designed to help guard that very freedom in New Zealand.  

Why is this so vital? Certain nation states have had no hesitation in meddling in our democratic society. Over the past decade incidents of foreign interference in New Zealand have been increasing in frequency, scope, and brazenness. This threat to democratic governance and civil liberties is only set to accelerate as the geopolitical order grows more volatile and rising powers seek to exert control over smaller nations. 

In putting together the FIT Bill, we consulted with civil liberties champions in fellow democracies such as Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada and the USA where similar laws have been passed in recent years. These campaigners are finding themselves targets in their own liberal democracies, singled out by proxies abroad on behalf of authoritarian regimes. 

We've sought to learn from what has worked in similar jurisdictions, but we've also improved where possible on that experience in order to better frame in our own context a winning piece of legislation.

One of the best parts about the FIT Bill is that it not only applies a tough standard of transparency surrounding foreign influence activities, but it also honours the spirit of NZ's own Bill of Rights Act (NZBORA). 

Pay close attention to the criticisms that will now start coming our way. While some opponents of the FIT Bill will argue in good faith - something we welcome - there will be other critics with serious vested interests at stake who will play dirty. Yep, it might sound wild, yet we're not making this stuff up. Experience from our friends in the UK has proven just how deeply embedded certain foreign political powers such as the Chinese Communist Party have succeeded in gaining leverage in liberal democracies, affecting business, politics and civil society. In passing their own FIT Bill into law (it came into effect this time last year), campaigners were subjected to a sustained campaign to undermine and dilute the legislation from certain Members of Parliament with undisclosed links to foreign powers. New Zealand is not immune to this threat.

Your support will help us sustain this campaign for change so that New Zealand can get ahead of the problem and preserve its democratic sovereignty. 

Thank you for standing with us.