Maxim Institute
1. Business / Trading Name: Maxim Institute
2. Company Number:
Maxim Institute itself has a Charities Registration, number: CC24446
MDF No. 1 Ltd (Maxim Development Foundation) (K624040 Investment - financial assets) has a company number (4836139) and an NZBN (9429041022603). It gives the same address as the Maxim Institute. Company hub shows it is 100% owned by the Maxim Development Foundation and its address is c/- The Maxim Institute. Email address is at Maxim Institute and director is Maxim Institute Trustee John Elliott.
3. NZBN: 9429042679998
4. Entity Type: Registered Charitable Trust
5. Business Classification: Public policy think tank (non-profit research institute)
6. Industry Category: Policy Research / Think Tank
7. Year Founded: 2001 (co-founded in 2001 by Greg Fleming and Bruce Logan)
8. Addresses:
Physical: 49 Cape Horn Road, Hillsborough, Auckland 1041
Postal: PO Box 49-074, Roskill South, Auckland 1445
9. Website URL:
https://www.maxim.org.nz
10. LinkedIn URL: https://www.linkedin.com/company/maximinstitute/?originalSubdomain=nz
11. Company Hub NZ URL: No listing on Company Hub; not a registered company)
12. NZ Companies Office URL: No listing with companies office; instead listed on Department of Internal Affairs Charities Register:
https://www.register.charities.govt.nz/Charity/CC24446
13. Social Media URLs:
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/MaximInstitute
Twitter (X) – https://twitter.com/maximinstitute
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/officialmaximinstitute
TikTok – https://www.tiktok.com/@maximinstitute
14. Ultimate Holding Company: None. Independent charitable entity, no holding company.
15. Key Shareholders: Not Applicable (charitable trust with no shareholders)
Name
Position
Tim Wilson - Executive Director (CEO)
Campbell Batts - Chair of Board of Trustees
Roshan Allpress - Trustee (Board Member)
Kate Muirhead - Trustee (Board Member)
Scott McMurray - Trustee (Board Member)
Roseanne Hay - Trustee (Board Member)
John Elliott - Trustee (Board Member)
17. Staff: Approximately 8–10 full-time staff (and several part-time/fellows). Key staff include: Tim Wilson (Executive Director), Dr. Paul Henderson (Director of Research Strategy), Maryanne Spurdle (Research Manager), Dr. Stephanie Worboys (Internship Manager & Researcher), Thomas Scrimgeour (Researcher), Vanessa Blaauw (Operations Manager), Sarah Neary (Operations & Events Coordinator), Jason Heale (Communications Manager), Josiah Brown (Communications Coordinator), Laura Schryvers (Accountant), Rev. Hamish Dobbie (Pou Tiaki), and a number of Research Fellows (e.g. Marcus Roberts, Natasha Baulis, Alex Penk, Dr. Warren Brookbanks, Dr. Jonathan Cole).
18. Staff that have held previous government roles: Dr. Paul Henderson – formerly seconded to the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (served as secretary to a cross-party education reform committee under PM John Key). Scott McMurray – former senior public servant with roles in financial markets regulation and local/central government (he oversaw a government review of retirement policy). (Note: Several Board members also have public sector experience, e.g. Kate Muirhead served as a Crown Prosecutor.)
19. Past Employees: Bruce Logan (Co-founder and first Director; led the Institute’s early years until 2005, left amid a plagiarism controversy). Greg Fleming (Co-founder; Managing Director/CEO 2001–2013; later entered politics in 2023 as a National Party MP). Alex Penk (CEO 2014–2019; transitioned to Research Fellow role). Other former researchers include Danielle van Dalen and Kieran Madden (former Director of Research), who contributed to policy work in the 2010s.
20. Clients: Maxim is funded by donors rather than client services.
21. Industries/Sectors Represented: Maxim Institute does not represent industry clients. It conducts independent policy research in sectors including education, welfare, economics, and social policy.
22. Publicly Disclosed Engagements: Regular written submissions to Parliament and government bodies on public policy and legislation (e.g. submissions on hate speech law changes, education reforms, welfare policy, electoral law, End of Life Choice Act, etc.). Organiser of non-partisan election forums – notably the “NZ Votes” project during the 2005 general election, which held 30 public candidate debates nationwide and ran a voter education website. Hosts an annual Sir John Graham Lecture series and other public forums on policy issues (featuring international and local speakers).
23. Affiliations:
Part of the Atlas Network of free-market think tanks. Membership of Atlas only up to recorded until 2015 (recipient of several international think tank awards from the Atlas Economic Research Foundation awards in 2005).
Member of Philanthropy New Zealand (as a non-profit organization engaging with philanthropic sector).
Has collaborative links with international think tanks and figures (e.g. invited UK Conservative MP Iain Duncan Smith of the Centre for Social Justice to NZ for events).
Historically connected to conservative policy networks (Bruce Logan drew on research from groups like the Heritage Foundation and Institute for American Values in early publications).
24. Sponsorships / Collaborations: The Institute’s events and research have been supported by various charitable donors and foundations (e.g. Templeton Foundation via Atlas awards). No formal corporate sponsorships publicly disclosed. Collaboration often occurs with academic or community partners for events (for instance, partnering with churches, universities, or civic groups to host policy discussions). (No major sponsorship deals are published.)
25. Events (held or organized by this organisation): Election Debate Series 2005 (“NZ Votes”) – 30 candidate meetings nationwide to inform voters. Sir John Graham Lecture – annual public lecture on a major policy issue (inaugurated mid-2000s, drawing speakers such as experts and leaders in social policy). Conferences and Seminars – e.g. a 2004 “Political Correctness” conference (featured UK academic Dr. Frank Ellis); a 2007 Social Justice conference. Regular policy webinars and panel discussions (recently on AI in education, religious freedom, etc., often released via online video). Periodic leadership development workshops (through its internship/Leadership Academy program).
26. Political Donations: None disclosed. Maxim Institute, as a registered charity, does not donate to political parties or candidates (and there is no record of any such donations).
27. Controversies: Plagiarism scandal (2005): Co-founder Bruce Logan was found to have plagiarized sections of his published opinion pieces from overseas conservative sources, leading to public criticism and his retirement from the Institute. “NZ Votes” neutrality questions (2005): Investigative author Nicky Hager alleged in The Hollow Men that Maxim’s 2005 election project had covert ties to the National Party’s agenda (citing a Maxim-produced education booklet that attacked the incumbent Labour Government’s policies). While Hager characterized Maxim as aligned with National, other analysts (e.g. in The Baubles of Office) noted that the NZVotes.org website itself stayed non-partisan. Social conservative links: Critics have pointed out Maxim’s early campaigns against the Civil Union Act and Prostitution Reform (2003–2004) as evidence of a conservative moral agenda; this resurfaced in 2023 when past remarks by Greg Fleming (comparing civil unions to polygamy/incest in 2004) became public, embarrassing the National Party that Fleming had joined.[5] Controversial speakers: In 2004 Maxim hosted Dr. Frank Ellis for a talk on “political correctness” – Ellis was later revealed to have ties to far-right groups, reflecting poorly on Maxim’s vetting. Ideological criticism: Progressive groups have accused Maxim of being a “Christian Right” organization in think-tank clothing, though Maxim denies any party-political alignment. (Maxim’s Christian foundation is openly acknowledged, but it has had to defend its research as evidence-based after claims of bias.)
28. Other Information of Note: Maxim Institute publishes a variety of materials to extend its influence: a weekly emailed commentary “Real Issues” (launched in the early 2000s to provide analysis on policy and cultural topics), and a biannual journal “Flint & Steel” (since 2013) featuring essays by academics, writers, and thought leaders on societal issues. The Institute also runs a Leading Fellows program/Internship (Maxim Institute Leadership Academy) that mentors young professionals – several alumni have moved into public service, politics, and academia, creating a network of influence aligned with Maxim’s values. Funding is entirely through private donations; over 1,700 individuals and trusts have contributed financially since inception.
29. Recipient of Wage Subsidy Scheme: No record of that.
[1] https://www.desmog.com/atlas-economic-research-foundation/#h-atlas-network-members-partners
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxim_Institute
[3] https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0504/S00311/maxim-institute-wins-international-award.htm#:~:text=The%20Maxim%20Institute%2C%20a%20New,Maxim’s%20Managing%20Director%20Greg%20Fleming
[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxim_Institute#:~:text=profit%20and%20non%20partisan,org
[5] https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/national-party-aware-candidate-compared-civil-unions-to-polygamy-and-incest/E53I7JGYUFGMNDBDY26NTLJ4P4/#:~:text=National%20Party%20officials%20were%20aware,unions%20to%20incest%20and%20polygamy
[6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxim_Institute#:~:text=The%20Institute%20produces%20a%20monthly,Zealand%20and%20around%20the%20world
Spot anything in this entry that is wrong? Please either leave a comment at the end or email, in confidence: bryce@democracyproject.nz