Brewers Association of New Zealand
1. Business / Trading Name: Brewers Association of New Zealand Incorporated
2. Company number: 2684652
3. NZBN: 9429046410443
4. Entity type: Incorporated society (not-for-profit industry association)
5. Business classification: Industry advocacy and lobbying group for major beer brewers
6. Industry Category: Alcoholic beverages (brewing/beer sector)
7. Year founded: 2017 (established as stand-alone NZ entity after separating from Australian Brewers Association)
8. Addresses: PO Box 25526, Featherston Street, Wellington 6146 (mailing address) ; Physical office address not publicly listed
9. Website URL:
https://www.brewers.org.nz
10. LinkedIn URL: Data Not Found (no official LinkedIn page; organization represented via staff profiles)
11. Company Hub NZ URL: Data Not Found
12. NZ Companies Office URL: https://app.businessregisters.govt.nz/sber-businesses/viewInstance/view.html?id=229a78e05307b6d8bf1b29667f00cb17d7a5d9f8c19a74c5 (Incorporated societies Register)
13. Social Media URLs: Data Not Found (no official social media accounts identified)
14. Ultimate Holding Company: Not applicable – member-funded association (members are ultimately owned by global brewing conglomerates: Heineken (DB) and Kirin (Lion))
15. Key Shareholders: Not applicable – no shareholders (membership-based organization)
16. Leadership: Executive Director – Dylan Firth (since 2018) ; Board Chair – e.g. Rory Glass (Lion NZ Managing Director, served as BANZ Chairman in 2017–2018). (Governing board comprises senior executives of member companies.)
17. Staff: Small secretariat (Executive Director as chief staff; few if any additional full-time staff publicly listed)
18. Staff that have held previous government roles: None identified (key staff have industry backgrounds; e.g. Firth came from Hospitality NZ, not government)
19. Past Employees: None notable (Dylan Firth is inaugural Exec. Director; no predecessors in the standalone NZ entity)
20. Clients: N/A (acts on behalf of its members rather than external clients; principal members are DB Breweries and Lion NZ)
21. Industries/sectors represented: Beer brewing and wider alcohol beverages industry (particularly large-scale breweries)
22. Publicly Disclosed Engagements: Policy submissions (e.g. Tax Working Group 2018 ; WHO Global Alcohol Strategy consultation 2020); application to Food Standards Australia NZ on warning labels 2022 ; OIA-revealed communications with Ministry of Health 2024 ; press statements on legislation (e.g. Sale & Supply of Alcohol Act amendments 2023)
23. Affiliations (incl. international connections): Member of the NZ Alcohol Beverages Council (cross-industry lobby group) ; partner in “The Tomorrow Project”/Cheers! social responsibility initiative with Winegrowers and Spirits NZ ; formerly part of the joint Australia-New Zealand Brewers Association (prior to 2017 split) ; aligned with global beer industry networks (e.g. World Brewers Alliance) via its multinational parent companies
24. Sponsorships / Collaborations: Ran “Beer The Beautiful Truth” public campaign (2017) with Kiwi celebrities to promote beer’s nutritional messaging ; co-founded Cheers! (Tomorrow Project) responsible drinking program with other alcohol industry bodies in 2012 ; commissions research (e.g. NZIER economic reports) in collaboration with Brewers Guild to highlight industry contributions
25. Events (held or organised): Data Not Found (no major public events solely organized by BANZ identified)
26. Political Donations: No direct political donations by the Association itself on record. However, member companies have made significant donations (e.g. Lion NZ donated ≈$148,500 to National and Labour over 1996–2019)
27. Controversies: Criticised for lobbying influence over health policy (e.g. pressing officials to halt safe drinking guidelines review) ; accused by public health advocates of using tactics “like tobacco lobbyists” to derail alcohol reforms ; longtime opposition to stricter alcohol regulations (such as warning labels and marketing curbs) noted by health experts
28. Other information of note: Emphasizes economic importance of brewing industry in advocacy (claiming ~$3.3–3.6 billion GDP impact) ; closely involved in industry self-regulation and education initiatives (via Cheers! program and targeted harm-reduction campaigns)
29. Recipient of Wage Subsidy Scheme: No. (No record of BANZ itself receiving COVID-19 wage subsidies; the Association acknowledged the value of wage subsidies generally for the hospitality sector but did not appear as a direct recipient.)
Sources:
[1] Alcohol lobbyists given input on health policies, documents reveal, RNZ News, https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/560404/alcohol-lobbyists-given-input-on-health-policies-documents-reveal
[2] Alcohol lobbyists given input on health policies, documents reveal, Otago Daily Times, https://www.odt.co.nz/news/national/alcohol-lobbyists-given-input-health-policies-documents-reveal
[3] Alcohol lobbyists given input on health policies (excerpt of emails), RNZ News, https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/560404/alcohol-lobbyists-given-input-on-health-policies-documents-reveal
[4] Brewers Association Of New Zealand Supports Modernisation Of Alcohol Legislation, Scoop News, https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU2504/S00229/brewers-association-of-new-zealand-supports-modernisation-of-alcohol-legislation.htm
[5] Brewers Association of NZ – New Executive Director (press release), The Shout NZ, https://www.theshout.co.nz/new-executive-director-brewers-association-new-zealand/
[6] Brewers Association of New Zealand announces new executive director, National Business Review, https://www.nbr.co.nz/brewers-association-of-new-zealand-announces-new-executive-director/
[7] About Us – Brewers Association of NZ (official site), Brewers.org.nz, https://www.brewers.org.nz/about-us
[8] Contact Us – Brewers Association of NZ (official site), Brewers.org.nz, https://www.brewers.org.nz/contact-us
[9] Election Priorities 2023 – Brewing Sector Priorities, Brewers Association of NZ, https://www.brewers.org.nz/election-priorities-2023/
[10] Beer The Beautiful Truth campaign launch (press coverage), Campaign Brief NZ, https://campaignbrief.co.nz/2018/02/01/brewers-association-of-nz-laun/
[11] NZIER Alcohol Beverages Industry Economic Impact Report (Commissioned by NZABC), NZ Alcohol Beverages Council, https://nzabc.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/NZIER_Alcohol-Beverages-Industry-Economic-Impact-Report_220322_compressed-file.pdf
[12] Brewing in New Zealand – Industry Report 2022 (excerpt), NZIER for Brewers Association & Brewers Guild, via RNZ News, https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/540512/beer-accounts-for-almost-1-percent-of-new-zealand-s-gdp-report
[13] New Zealand is very good at beer – we find out why (interview with Dylan Firth), The Spinoff, https://thespinoff.co.nz/partner/17-04-2019/new-zealand-is-very-good-at-beer-we-find-out-why
[14] Brewers urge govt, consumers to support hospo (Covid-19 impact statement), Food Ticker, https://www.foodticker.co.nz/brewers-urge-govt-consumers-to-support-hospo/
[15] Government lobbied to follow UK and reduce tax on kegs of beer, Newstalk ZB, https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/news/business/government-lobbied-to-follow-uk-and-reduce-tax-on-kegs-of-beer
[16] Big booze’s revenue beats pre-pandemic levels, but profits lagging, Newsroom, https://newsroom.co.nz/2024/07/09/big-boozes-income-beats-pre-pandemic-levels-but-profits-lagging/
[17] Bad news for beer drinkers, Newsroom (republished on inkl.com), https://www.inkl.com/news/bad-news-for-beer-drinkers (original author: Joseph Wood, Newsroom)
[18] Addressing the influence of the alcohol industry in Aotearoa New Zealand, NZ Medical Journal (Vol. 136 No.1579), https://journal.nzma.org.nz/2023/136-1579/
[19] FSANZ Application A1256 – Approval Report (pregnancy warning label variation), Food Standards Australia New Zealand, https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/code/applications/Documents/A1256%20Approval%20report.pdf
[20] Joint Submission to WHO Global Alcohol Strategy Consultation 2020 (NZ Winegrowers, BANZ, Spirits NZ), SpiritsNZ.org.nz, https://spiritsnz.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/GAS-Consultation-NZ-Final.pdf
[21] Beer in New Zealand – Wikipedia (industry overview and history), Wikipedia.org, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beer_in_New_Zealand
[22] Lion made three donations totalling $148,500… (NZMJ article references), Policy Quarterly (cited in NZMJ), https://ojs.victoria.ac.nz/pq/article/view/6818 (and Electoral Commission data on donations)
[23] Lion Nathan pull-out disbands Beer Wine and Spirits Council, NZ Herald (NZPA story, 1 Dec 2006) – Referenced in: Advancing Industry Interests in Alcohol Policy: The Double Game (Research article, 2015)
[24] Thompson Lewis profile – Brewers Association client, The Integrity Institute via Democracy Project, https://democracyproject.substack.com/p/thompson-lewis (Bryce Edwards, 2023)
Spot anything in this entry that is wrong? Please either leave a comment at the end or email, in confidence: bryce@democracyproject.nz