New 'rules of engagement' with alcohol lobby after alarm at 'way too friendly' interactions

New "rules of engagement" for health officials dealing with the alcohol industry are coming after a senior staffer complained a public health manager had been "way too friendly" with booze lobbyists.

In May RNZ reported that Ross Bell, a manager with the Ministry of Health's Public Health Agency, had close engagement with alcohol lobbyists, who were granted input into the development of alcohol policies. References to a review of safe drinking guidelines were removed from a Health New Zealand website after an alcohol lobbyist complained to Bell.

On the day RNZ published its story, Deputy Director-General of Health Dr Andrew Old sent an email to staff saying Bell had "acted entirely appropriately" in his engagement with the alcohol industry.

"Engaging with industry can, and has, yielded meaningful health gains for New Zealanders in the past - and will do so again," the email said. "However, we also know that some industry interests lead to public health harm, and so our engagement needs to be careful, mature, and intentional."

Old invited Ministry of Health staff to respond. Dr Clair Mills, who provides advice to the Public Health Advisory committee, took issue with the engagement with the alcohol industry.

"I do think there is a problem - at the very least, in terms of perception," she wrote to Old, in emails released to RNZ under the Official Information Act.

The alcohol industry's fight against Local Alcohol Policies - where communities set their own conditions for sale - revealed its motivations, Mill said. It contrasted with the "lack of community voice and power".

RNZ's reporting revealed a series of emails between Bell and alcohol lobbyists, which showed close relationships, multiple meetings and exchanges of information.

"I think the tone of the emails was way too friendly," Mills, whose career includes serving as Medical Director for Médecins Sans Frontières' and as Medical Officer of Health in Northland, said in her email to Old.

"In my experience… these alcohol interests have zero interest in reducing harm (or sales of booze) and a huge purse to fund their lawyers."

'Perception becomes reality'

Old responded to Mills saying stronger processes for health officials engaging with the alcohol industry were being prepared.

"All good points - perception becomes reality after all," he told her. "Given we are expected to engage with industry, whether that's alcohol, food or anything else (except tobacco!) it would help to have some clear rules of engagement. I'm picking that up with our central MOH team."

Tobacco lobbyists are shut out of policy making because New Zealand is a signatory to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).

Under the FCTC countries protect policy development from the "vested interests of the tobacco industry" as there is an "irreconcilable conflict between the tobacco industry's interests and public health policy interests".

In contrast, the alcohol industry has input into policy development in New Zealand, including managing Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) and spending the Alcohol Levy, a $16 million fund to reduce alcohol harm, estimated in a 2024 report by NZIER to cost $9.1 billion a year.

RNZ used the OIA to obtain 85 pages of emails detailing engagement between the Ministry of Health (MOH) and alcohol lobbyists, with Ross Bell emerging as the main conduit.

One document describes a 90 minute meeting between lobbyists and MOH staff in February 2025 as "Alcohol industry reps and Ministry of Health regular meeting".

The documents show the plan to manage FASD has been given to the alcohol industry. "Thanks for sharing the draft FASD plan," a wine lobbyist says in an email to public health officials, copying in a lobbyist with the spirits industry.

The documents show alcohol lobbyists made their own submissions to MOH on how they believed FASD should be managed.

The Spirits New Zealand submission runs to four pages but is entirely redacted by MOH under a section of the OIA designed to protect "the confidentiality of advice tendered by Ministers of the Crown and officials".

RNZ has asked the Ombudsman to investigate whether the MOH can legitimately use this section of the OIA to protect correspondence from a spirits industry lobbyist.

Alcohol industry's input

The documents obtained by RNZ show Bell was receptive to requests from the alcohol industry.

In November 2024 the Brewer's Association complained to Bell that references to a review of the low risk drinking guidelines were still on the Health New Zealand website, alcohol.org.nz, after it had already complained to him about it.

It also took issue that the site linked to what other countries, including Canada, were doing with their advice on low risk drinking.

Bell intervened in an email to Health New Zealand in December 2024.

"All work on this project will now pause. You will update relevant Health NZ websites to remove references to the review and also to other jurisdictions' guidelines (including the Canadian one)."

Bell refused to be interviewed by RNZ but in a previous statement he said the material was removed from the website to avoid confusion, as the drinking guidelines were now led by the Ministry of Health not Health New Zealand which runs the alcohol.org.nz website.

He said that was an internal decision by MOH and that a review of the drinking guidelines was now on hold while the ministry considered its priorities.

The documents obtained by RNZ show that Bell also shared the Alcohol Levy investment framework with wine and beer lobbyists in a November 2024 email.

"As discussed and as promised, attached is the draft Alcohol Levy Investment Framework for your consideration and feedback," he wrote.

The alcohol lobbyists then provided at least three pages of feedback on how the money should be spent.

But again MOH is keeping all that information secret under the section of the OIA designed to protect "the confidentiality of advice tendered by Ministers of the Crown and officials".

Minister for Mental Health Matt Doocey turned down RNZ's request for information on the Alcohol Levy but did release correspondence from alcohol lobbyists.

Those documents included a July 2024 email to Doocey and his Cabinet colleague Shane Reti where the wine, beer and spirits industries pushed for greater involvement in setting alcohol policy.

"We still believe industry has a lot to offer as government seeks to reduce harmful drinking," the booze lobbyists wrote.

They pointed out that they funded the main education programme which teaches students about the impacts of alcohol.

"We also fund, through our own social investment charity - The Tomorrow Project, an in-school theatre-based better drinking education programme called Smashed," the lobbyists told the Ministers. "Smashed is independently run and delivered by The Life Education Trust and reaches over 20,000 year 9 students every year."

Filings with the Charities Services show that the beer, wine and spirits industries each paid $105,000 towards The Tomorrow Project, a charity entirely funded by the alcohol industry.

The alcohol lobbyists also make a pitch for the government to "partner with industry" in deciding how to spend the Alcohol Levy and say they should be "working directly with officials" on reducing alcohol harm.