#16: Dame Anne Salmond: Democracy at Risk — The RSB and the Fight for Our Future

Coherent

Video episode available on my Substack.

In this powerful and far-reaching conversation, Dame Anne Salmond joins Melanie to confront the deeper ideological project behind the Regulatory Standards Bill. With clarity, compassion and a lifetime of scholarly insight, Anne warns that the Bill isn’t just about regulation — it’s a blueprint for hollowing out democracy, elevating corporate interests, and tying government into a narrow ideological approach.

Together, they explore:

• How the RSB advances a global libertarian agenda hostile to public good
• The Bill’s undermining of collective rights, te Tiriti, and environmental protections
• The risks of concentrating oversight power in a single Minister’s hands
• Why the ‘double speak’ of “freedom and democracy” masks a corporate agenda
• The erosion of due process, evidence-based policymaking, and civil political discourse

Anne also issues a clear warning about the danger of small parties imposing fringe philosophies through opaque coalition deals. And she closes with a hopeful call to return to our shared values — grounded in whakapapa, manaakitanga, community, and a fair go — to imagine a democracy worth defending.

Resources:

Sector Specific RSB Tool: https://tinyurl.com/RSBTool

Linktree with a wide range of historic and contemporary information on the RSB, including submission guides and builders.

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This is part of a series of in-depth conversations with experts across sectors on the real-world impacts of the Regulatory Standards Bill. If you value independent political analysis, subscribe to my Substack for more interviews, writing, and updates. Free subscribers get regular content. Paid subscriptions really help keep this work going.