Cabinet minister Kris Faafoi surprised when he announced earlier this year that he was pulling stumps on politics after 12 years. Then 3 months later he announced he would form his own consultancy firm.
The pompous reaction from journalists, editorial writers and opposition politicians was uniformly pretentious nonsense.
The general tenor was it was inappropriate as Faafoi, by dint of his cabinet role, allegedly had sensitive knowledge that could give an unfair advantage to a potential client. The clamour was for an unspecified “cooling off” period. All of this was world-class cock.
Every day MPs, including Cabinet ministers and list MPs which Faafoi was, are consulted by many hundreds of constituents over problems. So too businesses, as they’re entitled to. In their case all the alleged “inside knowledge” can provide is either advice not to waste time pursuing a goal and explain why, or alternatively, suggest a more efficient way to achieve their legitimate objective.
I had a problem a few months back with a red tape situation blocking a legitimate pursuit. I spoke to a Cabinet minister mate who took it up with the relevant Minister. He looked into it and quickly cleared the blockage. This is what our politicians do every day for their constituents, indeed most advertise in their local newspaper their availability for consulting to deal with any problems. Saturday morning consulting “surgeries”, are a convention for all MPs, even including the Prime Minister.
So good luck to Kris Faafoi in his new endeavour, which unlike his political years, will enable him to go home at night and live a normal family life, his expressed legitimate reason for quitting politics.
3 Comments
It’s nice Sir Robert that you have a bit of “inside” pull. Most of the population don’t and I suspect the fact that now Faafoi, who revealed himself as an incompetent minister, has that pull for some extra cash may be unsettling at best.
I had an employee leave once and take my client list to her next job. While that is not entirely a similar situation the relative proximity if Faafoi to the present cabinet does give him an inside view of what is to come and ultimately we, the taxpayers, will end up funding decisions untilising that pull.
In my opinion.
Tauranga at least thank the grate Lord has a large South Africaans population. This part of New Zealand should learn fthrom these highly entelligent people as their standards are vastly superior.
But we can poke fun at his language. He is not actually going to provide advice not to waste time or alternatively suggest a more efficient way to achieve the client’s objective.
Instead, according to the website of the firm that he has joined, he is going to “enhance the multi-channel, one voice solution” while “assist[ing] clients navigate the worlds of media and Government” by “going back to the craft of storytelling” at this firm with its “award winning” services.
No, I don’t know what it means either.