WHEN THE SYSTEM WEARS YOU DOWN - WE HELP YOU KEEP GOING
Practical support before legal costs take over.
LOBBY FOR GOOD EXISTS BECAUSE TOO MANY PEOPLE ARE FORCED INTO AN IMPOSSIBLE CHOICE: STAY SILENT, OR PAY FOR LEGAL HELP THEY CAN'T AFFORD.
The problem isn’t that people don’t speak up.
It’s that public systems often make it exhausting to do so.
In New Zealand, people raise fair concerns with councils, agencies, and public institutions every day.
They ask questions.
They request information.
They try to engage in good faith.
And then the same patterns appear:
Delays stretch on for months
Answers don’t quite answer the question
Responsibility is passed from one team to another
People are told “this is just how the process works”
Eventually, many give up - not because they’re wrong, but because they’re worn down.
For some, hiring a lawyer feels like the only way forward.
For many, it isn’t an option at all.
That’s the gap Lobby for Good exists to fill.
YOU DON'T ALWAYS NEED A LAWYER. YOU NEED CLARITY, STRATEGY, AND SUPPORT.
Lobby for Good is an independent civic agency that helps people navigate public systems before legal costs take over.
We help people:
Understand what’s actually happening in their situation
Identify what information they’re entitled to
Work out which options are realistic
Prepare strong complaints, submissions, or responses
Decide if - and when - escalation makes sense
We don’t replace lawyers.
We help people decide if, when, and how they might need one.
That alone can save months of stress - and thousands of dollars.
WHY SYSTEMS SO OFTEN RELY ON PEOPLE GIVING UP
Lobbying and influence in New Zealand are largely unregulated.
Well-resourced interests can afford:
Time
Advisors
Lawyers
Ongoing access to decision-makers
Most families can’t.
They’re working.
They’re caring for children or parents.
They’re paying bills.
Public systems often rely on that imbalance - not by design, but by default.
Lobby for Good exists to rebalance it, by giving people the tools, language, and strategic support to engage effectively without deep pockets.
LFG FOUNDER STORY - ERIKA HARVEY
This work didn’t start with theory.
It started with lived experience.
I didn’t set out to challenge councils or start a civic agency.
I was working in corporate roles, helping founders scale their startups, when our daughter was diagnosed with autism.
We needed more flexibility to support her, so I left my job and joined my husband in the family fishing business in Tauranga’s Marine Precinct. It felt like a practical decision - one that would allow us to support our family and build a stable future.
That decision put us face-to-face with our first broken system.
Tauranga's Marine Precinct (2016 - 2025)
The council had publicly stated that fishing operators wouldn’t need to tender for land. Facilities would be available. Businesses like ours could plan with confidence.
We relied on that information.
We committed to living in Tauranga.
We bought a house.
We backed the business.
But once we were in, things didn’t add up.
What was happening behind the scenes didn’t match what had been promised publicly.
Council documents, marketing materials, and official communications were misleading.
What followed was nearly a decade of advocacy - meetings, submissions, paper trails, and repeated attempts to hold the council to its own commitments.
In the end, none of it mattered.
While I was home on maternity leave, being led to believe everything was on track - the council sold the land in a private deal.
There was no public notice, no open process, and no chance for the community to intervene..
Education (2016 - Ongoing)
At the same time, a second system failed us in a very different way.
When our daughter was supposed to start school, our local school told us she would need to be picked up at lunchtime every day - not because of her ability, but because the school didn’t have enough funding for support staff.
This wasn’t a one-off issue.
It was a structural problem in how education funding works for children with additional learning needs, like Autism.
Schools were under-resourced.
Families were left to absorb the impact.
And children paid the price.
Eventually, we found a school in another zone that could offer the support our daughter needed and we’ll always be grateful for them. But it shouldn’t have taken that much effort. It shouldn’t have come down to where you live, or who has time to keep pushing.
Two different systems.
Two different agencies.
The same deeper pattern.
Public assurances that didn’t reflect reality.
Processes that shifted responsibility instead of fixing problems.
Families and small businesses left carrying the cost when systems failed.
Once that pattern becomes visible, it’s impossible to unsee.
Lobby for Good grew out of that realisation.
HOW WE WORK
Lobby for Good exists to help decision-making improve - not by being louder, but by being clearer.
We work with people inside public systems who want to do better, and with communities who are ready to bring evidence, context, and lived experience into the room.
Real change happens when the right information reaches the right people at the right time.
Over time, one pattern becomes clear:
problems aren’t always caused by bad intent - they’re often the result of incomplete or skewed information.
When decision-makers are working with:
partial data
narrow perspectives
commercially framed advice
even well-intentioned decisions can miss the mark.
That’s why our work focuses on:
evidence, not noise
patterns, not isolated cases
early intervention, not last-resort escalation
We support people before they’re forced into legal action, and we work with public institutions that genuinely want to understand what’s going wrong - and how to fix it.
WHAT WE'RE BUILDING
We’re building a model that everyday people can actually use, not just see from the outside.
Lobby for Good:
Operates independently
Builds collective strength through membership
Supports people directly, not only through campaigns
Works with organisations that value transparency and learning
Focuses on practical change, not symbolic gestures
What began as a bridge between people and decision-makers has become something stronger: a way for everyday people to engage public systems with confidence, and not to stand alone when they do.
THIS SHOULDN'T BE AS HARD AS IT IS. AND IT DOESN'T HAVE TO STAY THAT WAY.
With the right support, people can:
Understand what’s really going on
Engage strategically and early
Protect themselves from unnecessary cost and burnout
That’s why Lobby for Good exists.
And with enough people behind it, this work can help change how decisions are made - in ways that are fairer, clearer, and more accountable.
