Bryce Edwards
@bryceedwards.bsky.social
This 6th piece in my MisManageMyHealth series follows directly from my earlier columns on privatisation, monopoly power, and watchdog failure. Here, the focus is lobbying: how industry actors shaped the policy environment: www.democracyproject.org.nz/p/democracy-...
Democracy Briefing: How Tech lobbying enabled MisManageMyHealth
Fifteen years of warnings from three Privacy Commissioners.
www.democracyproject.org.nz
January 12, 2026 at 11:02 PM
This 6th piece in my MisManageMyHealth series follows directly from my earlier columns on privatisation, monopoly power, and watchdog failure. Here, the focus is lobbying: how industry actors shaped the policy environment: www.democracyproject.org.nz/p/democracy-...
The Manage My Health breach wasn’t a tech failure, it was a policy failure. This column traces how 30 years of privatisation, light-handed regulation and “high-trust” governance left NZ’s most sensitive health data in private hands, with no real oversight: www.democracyproject.org.nz/p/democracy-...
Democracy Briefing: How Privatisation built the MisManageMyHealth disaster
Why don’t we have a single, secure, government-run system for health records?
www.democracyproject.org.nz
January 12, 2026 at 1:41 AM
The Manage My Health breach wasn’t a tech failure, it was a policy failure. This column traces how 30 years of privatisation, light-handed regulation and “high-trust” governance left NZ’s most sensitive health data in private hands, with no real oversight: www.democracyproject.org.nz/p/democracy-...
Reposted by Bryce Edwards
"Now it’s time to look at who built this house of cards in the first place. Who is Manage My Health... This breach wasn’t random bad luck. It was baked into the architecture...
www.democracyproject.org.nz/p/democracy-...
www.democracyproject.org.nz/p/democracy-...
Democracy Briefing: The Monopoly behind MisManageMyHealth
Vino Ramayah, the CEO of Manage My Health, couldn’t have summed up the contradiction at the heart of this mess any better.
www.democracyproject.org.nz
January 11, 2026 at 2:33 AM
"Now it’s time to look at who built this house of cards in the first place. Who is Manage My Health... This breach wasn’t random bad luck. It was baked into the architecture...
www.democracyproject.org.nz/p/democracy-...
www.democracyproject.org.nz/p/democracy-...
Who built the MisManageMyHealth house of cards? In this 4th analysis in a series on the scandal, I examine the company behind the breach: its ownership, its monopoly position and the offshoring decisions that left millions of NZers’ health records exposed: www.democracyproject.org.nz/p/democracy-...
Democracy Briefing: The Monopoly behind MisManageMyHealth
Vino Ramayah, the CEO of Manage My Health, couldn’t have summed up the contradiction at the heart of this mess any better.
www.democracyproject.org.nz
January 11, 2026 at 12:19 AM
Who built the MisManageMyHealth house of cards? In this 4th analysis in a series on the scandal, I examine the company behind the breach: its ownership, its monopoly position and the offshoring decisions that left millions of NZers’ health records exposed: www.democracyproject.org.nz/p/democracy-...
NZers were encouraged — sometimes required — to use digital health portals. But when that system catastrophically failed, the state shrugged and said: “Not our problem.” My latest article on the MisManageMyHealth scandal and the problems of privatisation: www.democracyproject.org.nz/p/democracy-...
Democracy Briefing: The Watchdog that didn’t bark in the MisManageMyHealth scandal
In June 2025, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner received an anonymous tip.
www.democracyproject.org.nz
January 9, 2026 at 11:34 PM
NZers were encouraged — sometimes required — to use digital health portals. But when that system catastrophically failed, the state shrugged and said: “Not our problem.” My latest article on the MisManageMyHealth scandal and the problems of privatisation: www.democracyproject.org.nz/p/democracy-...
This is the 2nd column in my series on the ManageMyHealth debacle. The most damning fact isn’t the hack, but that clear warnings were issued months earlier and ignored. This breach was foreseeable & symptomatic of a hollowed-out regulatory state: www.democracyproject.org.nz/p/democracy-...
Democracy Briefing: Why the MisManageMyHealth debacle was preventable
In my previous column, I argued that the Manage My Health breach revealed a hollowed-out state.
www.democracyproject.org.nz
January 8, 2026 at 7:28 PM
This is the 2nd column in my series on the ManageMyHealth debacle. The most damning fact isn’t the hack, but that clear warnings were issued months earlier and ignored. This breach was foreseeable & symptomatic of a hollowed-out regulatory state: www.democracyproject.org.nz/p/democracy-...
This isn’t just a data breach. The Manage My Health hack is a case study in how NZ governs itself: hollowed-out oversight, light-touch regulation, and politicians who rush to condemn failures they quietly designed: www.democracyproject.org.nz/p/democracy-...
Democracy Briefing: The MisManageMyHealth scandal
When hackers stole 430,000 medical documents from Manage My Health on December 30, the initial response followed a familiar script.
www.democracyproject.org.nz
January 8, 2026 at 2:11 AM
This isn’t just a data breach. The Manage My Health hack is a case study in how NZ governs itself: hollowed-out oversight, light-touch regulation, and politicians who rush to condemn failures they quietly designed: www.democracyproject.org.nz/p/democracy-...
As we head into an election year, voters should ask a simple question: "Does NZ still believe international law applies to everyone, or only to countries we’re comfortable criticising?" My analysis on NZ's craven response to the US invasion of Venezuela: www.democracyproject.org.nz/p/democracy-...
Democracy Briefing: NZ’s timid stance on the US invasion of Venezuela
When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, New Zealand responded with unusual speed.
www.democracyproject.org.nz
January 6, 2026 at 11:53 PM
As we head into an election year, voters should ask a simple question: "Does NZ still believe international law applies to everyone, or only to countries we’re comfortable criticising?" My analysis on NZ's craven response to the US invasion of Venezuela: www.democracyproject.org.nz/p/democracy-...
NZ urgently needs stricter rules on taxpayer-funded political advertising. Until then, expect more billboards, sponsored “news” articles, and digital ads — all paid for by the public, all technically “allowed”. My latest analysis: www.democracyproject.org.nz/p/democracy-...
Democracy Briefing: How Politicians campaign with your money
How much taxpayer funding will politicians spend this year on election advertising?
www.democracyproject.org.nz
January 6, 2026 at 2:39 AM
NZ urgently needs stricter rules on taxpayer-funded political advertising. Until then, expect more billboards, sponsored “news” articles, and digital ads — all paid for by the public, all technically “allowed”. My latest analysis: www.democracyproject.org.nz/p/democracy-...
Can knighthoods be bought in NZ? Today’s New Year Honours include multiple major political donors. Once again, the proximity between large donations and royal honours raises uncomfortable questions about whether our honours system rewards merit or money: www.democracyproject.org.nz/p/democracy-...
Democracy Briefing: Honours for Sale?
Can the wealthy donate money to politicians to get a knighthood in New Zealand?
www.democracyproject.org.nz
December 30, 2025 at 7:32 PM
Can knighthoods be bought in NZ? Today’s New Year Honours include multiple major political donors. Once again, the proximity between large donations and royal honours raises uncomfortable questions about whether our honours system rewards merit or money: www.democracyproject.org.nz/p/democracy-...
2025 was a bad year for NZ politics. Not just for the Govt, or Opposition, or any one party, but for the political system as a whole. If you’ve felt that politics this year has been more dispiriting than usual, you’re not imagining it - my latest column: www.democracyproject.org.nz/p/democracy-...
Democracy Briefing: The Year of Our Discontent
Veteran political journalist Richard Harman summed up 2025 in one bleak line: “This has been the year of our discontent.
www.democracyproject.org.nz
December 29, 2025 at 4:21 AM
2025 was a bad year for NZ politics. Not just for the Govt, or Opposition, or any one party, but for the political system as a whole. If you’ve felt that politics this year has been more dispiriting than usual, you’re not imagining it - my latest column: www.democracyproject.org.nz/p/democracy-...
My end-of-year analysis about the biggest hitter in parliamentary and ministerial politics in NZ, and what it says about NZ democracy: www.democracyproject.org.nz/p/democracy-...
Democracy Briefing: Chris Bishop – Politician of the Year 2025
At the end of the year, commentators across the spectrum have crowned Chris Bishop as 2025’s “Politician of the Year”.
www.democracyproject.org.nz
December 27, 2025 at 12:09 AM
My end-of-year analysis about the biggest hitter in parliamentary and ministerial politics in NZ, and what it says about NZ democracy: www.democracyproject.org.nz/p/democracy-...
Who funds local democracy — and what do they expect in return? My latest column analyses the newly released local election donation data and finds a familiar pattern: developers, corporates and the wealthy dominating the megaphone: www.democracyproject.org.nz/p/democracy-...
December 15, 2025 at 8:56 PM
Who funds local democracy — and what do they expect in return? My latest column analyses the newly released local election donation data and finds a familiar pattern: developers, corporates and the wealthy dominating the megaphone: www.democracyproject.org.nz/p/democracy-...
If a worker kills someone through negligence, it’s a crime. If a corporation kills 29 people, it pays a discounted fine. That says everything about who holds power in this country. My latest "Democracy Briefing" lays out the evidence: www.democracyproject.org.nz/p/democracy-...
Democracy Briefing: Pike River and the problem of unrestrained corporate power
Fifteen years.
www.democracyproject.org.nz
November 19, 2025 at 9:57 PM
If a worker kills someone through negligence, it’s a crime. If a corporation kills 29 people, it pays a discounted fine. That says everything about who holds power in this country. My latest "Democracy Briefing" lays out the evidence: www.democracyproject.org.nz/p/democracy-...
Reposted by Bryce Edwards
I think @bryceedwards.bsky.social has really nailed it here www.linkedin.com/posts/bryce-...
This week’s landmark cover up scandal could have positive consequences well beyond the Police | Bryce Edwards
We’ve been sold a fantasy about integrity in New Zealand public life. The McSkimming case is the crack in the façade. My latest article argues why:
www.linkedin.com
November 13, 2025 at 10:27 AM
I think @bryceedwards.bsky.social has really nailed it here www.linkedin.com/posts/bryce-...
While the world’s new left leaders are taking on corporate power head-on, NZ’s left remains timid. Here's what figures like Zohran Mamdani & Zach Polanski can teach Labour & the Greens about confronting the broken markets hollowing out NZ democracy: theintegrityinstitute.substack.com/p/integrity-...
Integrity Briefing: The NZ left need to catch up with the Zeitgeist
Yesterday’s victory of “democratic socialist” Zohran Mamdani in the race for the New York mayoralty is fuelling debate amongst progressives around the world about the way forward.
theintegrityinstitute.substack.com
November 5, 2025 at 10:33 PM
While the world’s new left leaders are taking on corporate power head-on, NZ’s left remains timid. Here's what figures like Zohran Mamdani & Zach Polanski can teach Labour & the Greens about confronting the broken markets hollowing out NZ democracy: theintegrityinstitute.substack.com/p/integrity-...
The NZ political left needs to take the “Abundance” debate seriously (as well as get involved in the contest of ideas, in general). A good letter to the Listener this week:
August 25, 2025 at 3:32 AM
The NZ political left needs to take the “Abundance” debate seriously (as well as get involved in the contest of ideas, in general). A good letter to the Listener this week:
Tighten your belts, they say. Except when it comes to $2.7 billion toys. Austerity for the people, extravagance for the military. Bell’s cartoon today in The Post about the new “investment” in “subhunters”:
August 22, 2025 at 10:10 PM
Tighten your belts, they say. Except when it comes to $2.7 billion toys. Austerity for the people, extravagance for the military. Bell’s cartoon today in The Post about the new “investment” in “subhunters”:
The Integrity Institute wants to foster more media scrutiny of vested interests and integrity issues in NZ. One of our first steps is to make grants to media outlets to pay for journalists to conduct in-depth investigations. This is the first Newsroom item. What do you think? (link below)
July 23, 2025 at 8:38 PM
The Integrity Institute wants to foster more media scrutiny of vested interests and integrity issues in NZ. One of our first steps is to make grants to media outlets to pay for journalists to conduct in-depth investigations. This is the first Newsroom item. What do you think? (link below)
“Ruffling feathers in the political lobbying world” — today’s Post piece on The Integrity Institute pulls no punches. Not all of it’s flattering, but that’s the cost of poking at power. Still, I’m pleased this debate is happening in public.
June 13, 2025 at 10:24 PM
“Ruffling feathers in the political lobbying world” — today’s Post piece on The Integrity Institute pulls no punches. Not all of it’s flattering, but that’s the cost of poking at power. Still, I’m pleased this debate is happening in public.
Join the Fightback against Oligarchy in NZ! The Integrity Institute has been formed to scrutinise and challenge the dominance of the wealthy in the political process. Here’s my explanation of our orientation to discontent:
democracyproject.substack.com/p/integrity-...
democracyproject.substack.com/p/integrity-...
Integrity Briefing: NZ’s trust crisis – A Revolt against oligarchy
New Zealand is in the throes of a trust crisis.
democracyproject.substack.com
March 31, 2025 at 8:22 PM
Join the Fightback against Oligarchy in NZ! The Integrity Institute has been formed to scrutinise and challenge the dominance of the wealthy in the political process. Here’s my explanation of our orientation to discontent:
democracyproject.substack.com/p/integrity-...
democracyproject.substack.com/p/integrity-...
Danyl Mclauchlan interviewed me for his excellent Listener cover story (“Paradise Lost”) explaining New Zealand’s decline, drawing attention to the role of vested interests in corroding politics and economy. Here’s an excerpt about lobbying:
February 21, 2025 at 6:29 PM
Danyl Mclauchlan interviewed me for his excellent Listener cover story (“Paradise Lost”) explaining New Zealand’s decline, drawing attention to the role of vested interests in corroding politics and economy. Here’s an excerpt about lobbying:
NZ has yet again slipped in the latest Transparency International Corruption Perception Index released tonight – declining in score from 85 to 83/100, and dropping in the rankings from 3rd to 4th. NZ used to be #1. The trendline continues downward as seen in this graph showing NZ’s ranking over time
February 11, 2025 at 5:08 AM
NZ has yet again slipped in the latest Transparency International Corruption Perception Index released tonight – declining in score from 85 to 83/100, and dropping in the rankings from 3rd to 4th. NZ used to be #1. The trendline continues downward as seen in this graph showing NZ’s ranking over time
NZ has a cohesive business & political elite that can make deals and policies via matey networks. I recently posted about Shane Jones’ annual Waitangi party in which he hosts lobbyists etc. And here’s some insightful commentary on the topic from the Sunday Star Times editor Tracy Watkins:
February 11, 2025 at 1:40 AM
NZ has a cohesive business & political elite that can make deals and policies via matey networks. I recently posted about Shane Jones’ annual Waitangi party in which he hosts lobbyists etc. And here’s some insightful commentary on the topic from the Sunday Star Times editor Tracy Watkins:
Danyl Mclauchlan’s very good analysis of the Regulatory Standards Bill in the latest Listener:
February 9, 2025 at 5:48 PM
Danyl Mclauchlan’s very good analysis of the Regulatory Standards Bill in the latest Listener: