Making New Zealand politics easier to follow honestly.
OpenBrief pulls together the public record — Parliamentary rosters, pecuniary interests, ministerial diaries, donations, Hansard, the charities register — with news reporting, commentary, and public conversation, and turns it into searchable dossiers and a live view of how the political conversation is moving.
Every figure on the site is traceable to a primary source. The project does not score politicians, predict elections, or accept paid placement. The goal is a clearer picture, not a louder one.
For the technical detail on what the data is and how it’s processed, see the methodology page.
Who runs OpenBrief
OpenBrief is a personal project, built and run alongside a full-time job in technology that has nothing to do with New Zealand media, politics, or policy. It’s self-funded and operated by Mnemosyne Ltd, a New Zealand-registered company; the director is listed on the New Zealand Companies Office register.
The project started from a frustration that anyone following NZ politics will recognise: the public record is genuinely public, but it’s scattered across a dozen different sites and formats, and the connections between the pieces are the bit that takes real work. OpenBrief is an attempt to do that work in one place and show it openly.
Independence, in practice
OpenBrief is built around two parallel commitments: an inventory of relationships it does not have, and a set of editorial things it will not do. Both are public so they can be held to.
OpenBrief has none of these
- Commercial relationships with New Zealand media outlets, political parties, lobbying firms, or PR agencies.
- Paid placement, sponsored content, or affiliate arrangements.
- Funding from political parties, advocacy groups, or government.
- Board, advisory, or consulting roles in New Zealand media, politics, or policy organisations.
If any of these change, it will be disclosed on this page.
What OpenBrief won’t do
- Score politicians or assign sympathies.
- Make predictions about elections, polling, or political outcomes.
- Accept paid placement, sponsored topics, or advertising.
- Paraphrase a source without linking to it.
- Publish a claim that can’t be traced to a primary record.
For the full editorial standard, see the methodology page.
Corrections and getting in touch
OpenBrief keeps a public corrections log. Every material correction goes there, with the date, the page affected, and what changed.
If you’ve spotted an error, please use the report-a-correction link at the bottom of any page. For anything else — questions about methodology, data sources, or the project itself — the contact form is the right place.
Journalists and researchers, that goes for you too; the project is happy to answer good-faith questions on the record.
Operated by Mnemosyne Ltd, a company registered in New Zealand. Company details are available on the New Zealand Companies Office register.
See also: privacy policy · terms of use