PR experts explain how the Greens completely blew the handling of shoplifting allegations involving a high-profile MP. One says it should force a rethink on the party’s “smug and sanctimonious pedestal” when it comes to communicating on other issues.
It took almost three weeks for the Greens co-leaders to front up to media on shoplifting allegations involving one of their top MPs - an “unacceptable” delay that has caused a “raging wildfire”, says one of New Zealand’s top public relations leaders.
And another says by delaying a front-foot statement, the party has allowed the situation to spin out of control, ultimately putting at risk its reputation and support.
Both Pead PR founder Deborah Pead and Public Relations Institute of New Zealand (Prinz) chair Heather Claycomb say there are lessons to be learned in the way the party has mishandled its communications strategy over Golriz Ghahraman.
Ghahraman yesterday resigned as a Greens MP, as police investigate allegations of shoplifting at high-end clothing stores in Auckland and Wellington.
The Greens first became aware of allegations on December 27 and more on January 5, but did not say anything publicly even after Ghahraman stood down from her portfolios while the matters were investigated.
Newstalk ZB broke the story last Wednesday - the Greens then issued a brief statement on Friday but their co-leaders, James Shaw and Marama Davidson, did not front up to media until yesterday, 20 days after becoming aware of the allegations.
While there have been various complications - the holiday break, Ghahraman’s absence overseas, the police investigation, and the Greens saying that one of the stores, Scotties, wanted the matter handled privately - none of this should have prevented a front-foot statement, say the PR experts.
“The Greens need to address how badly they responded to this matter,” said Pead.
“Comms teams invest time into developing issues management plans in preparation for a disaster. These plans provide a detailed blueprint on how to respond in a crisis.
“They are developed in anticipation of an issue, and without the stress or heat of the hot seat. The Greens probably need to locate their plan and dust it off because the silence and lack of communication with the New Zealanders who voted them into power is a PR fail.
“Their inaction has turned the hot seat into a raging wildfire.”
Pead said the fact it had taken until Tuesday for the Greens leaders to front up to media was “unacceptable”.
“The fact that their colleague was on leave or overseas changes nothing. They had a responsibility to front up with a statement. Their silence is a PR fail and has fuelled acres of media interest and public gossip.
“The second area where they have failed is in not recognising one of their colleagues was not coping to the extent where she allegedly resorted to illegal behaviour. We have a duty of care to each other in the workplace and this comes from the leadership down.”
Claycomb agreed the co-leaders needed to front much earlier.
“With any sort of negative issue like this - whether you are a corporate, political party or individual - you should aim to front-foot the situation as early as possible,” said Claycomb.
“Shaw and Davidson said they knew of the situation on December 27 but didn’t want to say anything because Scotties didn’t want the situation made public. This is not a situation where they should put the retailer’s interest ahead of the public’s. The fact is MPs are public servants and public interest must come first.”
While Claycomb acknowledged the “additional complications” of a police investigation, these did not prevent statements from being released earlier, demonstrating how seriously they were taking the matter.
“There is absolutely nothing on the party’s website news page until today [Tuesday], which is a missed opportunity to engage with their supporters and demonstrate the party’s values during a crisis situation,” said Claycomb.
“As soon as Ms Ghahraman was aware of an investigation, she should have had a statement prepared. So should have the party.”
By delaying a statement, the public and media filled in the gaps.
“To manage an issue effectively, you need to take control of the message or you risk the situation spinning out of control. The ultimate risk is reputation damage and a loss of trust. This is critically important as a political figure and party. You risk votes, support, approval ratings.”
She said that when the Greens finally did front on Tuesday, their response was “textbook in terms of responding well in a crisis - acknowledge what happened, apologise, detail how you aim to rectify it/next steps”.
Both Pead and Claycomb acknowledged sensitive, underlying issues impacting Ghahraman, after her own statement yesterday that “my mental health is being badly affected by the stresses relating to my work”.
She said she was “not trying to excuse my actions, but I do want to explain them”.
Pead said there had been a “real shift” in the way mental health was regarded, and its impact on behaviour and performance at work.
“I have empathy for anyone dealing with mental health issues and as communicators [we] are very mindful of the impact of comms on mental health. Sometimes this requires a background briefing so that media understand the context and can put the behaviour into perspective.”
Most of the major parties have had to deal with issues affecting MPs over the past 12 months.
“In this instance, Golriz has done the right thing and taken responsibility for her actions,” said Pead.
“In resigning she is giving herself the space to address her behavioural issues and to get the help to remedy whatever is behind them. No one likes witnessing a career nosedive. Golriz has been a hard-working MP and I wish her well with her recovery.”
Pead said there was a growing theme in politics - it was not an area for the faint-hearted.
“Is the playground too tough? Do we need stronger guard rails? Do our politicians need to be tested for mental resilience? Something needs to change because we can’t keep using stress of the role and mental health to avoid taking responsibility for illegal behaviour.”
Claycomb said Ghahraman’s political career was now likely “beyond recovery” but the Greens needed to ensure it treated her with the “respect and the sensitivity that is deserved”.
“The public will want to see the party has empathy and takes mental health seriously. What have they got in place to make sure it doesn’t happen again? How do they look after the health and wellbeing of their members in what is a stressful job?”
Pead said Ghahraman’s resignation meant the Greens could close the door and move on on this particular issue - however, she hoped it would give them pause for thought on their wider communications strategy.
“As a party they need to be mindful of the tone of their future comments. They tend to put themselves on a smug and sanctimonious pedestal. Their moral superiority has been deflated and they need to examine their self-righteousness and be less high-handed with their accusations.
“The proverb glass houses and stones comes to mind and they would do well to check the shape of the stones they throw.”
She said the party should be conducting an internal audit “to give themselves a clean bill of health”.
“The Greens are not averse to giving as good as they receive which is probably why they are on the receiving end of a lot of public anger. If this climate has caused issues for a colleague, they need to health check others as well.”
Claycomb said the party should still retain a focus on the positive work they were doing and communicating this through media and social media channels.
“They need to be careful ‘accentuating the positive’ doesn’t look like they are trying to avoid the issue or ‘spin’ a positive story, but rather acknowledging the seriousness of the issue at hand, while not letting their usual communications/politicking efforts fall by the wayside through a period of time where their party is under enhanced scrutiny.”
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