Political lobbying in New Zealand
As if to remind us of New Zealand's 'wild west' approach to political lobbying it's been announced that Kris Faafoi now heads up a new PR and lobbying firm less than 12 weeks after leaving Parliament.
The news that Kris Faafoi is already heading up a new PR and lobbying firm less than 12 weeks after leaving Parliament has drawn widespread concern from commentators.
Apparently already 3 weeks into his new role as chief executive of Dialogue22 and despite concerns being raised yesterday by commentators, Faafoi shrugged off any criticism over the speed of the move when questioned by RNZ.
I don't particularly get fussed about that, you know, people are entitled to their opinions but as I said you leave politics and you have to find yourself a career," he said
But Rashbrooke is correct - this simply wouldn’t be acceptable in most other countries that we consider our peer. When it comes to regulating political lobbying activities New Zealand has fallen far behind current international best practice. Nor is this a recent phenomenon - commentators such as Bryce Edwards, Michael Reddell and Prof Anne-Marie Brady have been raising this issue for years.
Australia has an 18 month stand-down before politicians can engage in lobbying work whilst Canada enforces a 5 year stand-down period. The UK Ministerial Code (para 7.25) prohibits Ministers from lobbying Government for 2 years after leaving office and when they do eventually undertake lobbying work they may have restrictions placed on them that restrict what parts of Government they can and can’t approach. In all of these countries there is a requirement for lobbying firms to be registered - a requirement that is supported by New Zealand PR professionals such as Neale Jones.
New Zealand, by contrast, is the wild west. Hence why Faafoi can set up shop so quickly with the backing of Greg Partington and his company, Waitapu Group which owns Dialogue22. Waitapu of course also owns the communications agency Tatou NZ whose CEO is Skye Kimura, the partner of Faafoi’s former colleague, Minister Peeni Henare. It’s what some commentators have described as ‘cosy’.
Concerns over lobbying and the current Government don’t just end with Faafoi - they extend to the on-going examination of the affairs of Minister Mahuta whose husband owns a consultancy business that describes itself as facilitating “business opportunities to advance whānau, hapū and iwi aspiration” by working with “business, stakeholders, local and central government”. There is currently no requirement for that business to be registered as a lobbyist, no oversight of its business or clients nor who it approaches within Government. That is a scenario that could not occur in most countries that we consider our peer - the risks are simply too great.
In 2020 Transparency International NZ called for a parliamentary code of conduct to regulate this type of activity.
This is an area which undoubtedly will require regulation at some point to bring us back in line with international standards - the question is whether politicians will see the dangers and heed the warnings now, or will they simply wait until a major crisis erupts before they are forced to act. For the moment we remain woefully exposed to a PR disaster.