National's Simeon Brown describes this as an extraordinary situation.
"I don't begrudge Kris Faafoi for leaving Parliament and looking for another line of work, he's got to pay the bills and feed the family. But the reality is, he has had access to very significant information, sensitive information; he understands what his former colleagues think on various issues."
Sadly, it's not as extraordinary as Brown might have us think. It is not unusual for former MPs and ministers to move into consulting after leaving politics In New Zealand for, for that matter, overseas. The lobbyist is one such sector.
However, many countries have what's called a "cooling off" period. Australia makes its former decision-makers wait 18 months before they can start lobbying, while Canada has a five-year rule.
Lobbyists are afforded access not afforded to everyday citizens and the director of Victoria University of Wellington's Democracy Project, Bryce Edwards, has repeatedly called for great scrutiny of the industry.
In the private sector, restraint of trade clauses are not unusual for similar reasons. Access to sensitive or advantageous information should come with some obligations over how and when it can be used for other, perhaps competitive, purposes.
To pay an MP handsomely while they are briefed on the intimate affairs of the state, only for them to jump across the table to lobby on behalf of paying interests is asking much of the New Zealand taxpayer.
A Lobbying Disclosure Bill from former Green MP Holly Walker was rejected by a parliamentary committee in 2013 as it was deemed too broad and may have discouraged constituents from engaging with politicians. The bill sought to bring a measure of transparency and public disclosure around the lobbying activity directed at members of Parliament and their staff, and in so doing to enhance trust in the integrity and impartiality of democracy and political decision-making.
Instead, the Government opted to require regulatory impact statements and explanatory notes of parliamentary bills to include details of the non-departmental organisations consulted during the development of related policy and legislation and to encourage the proactive release of policy papers to make the policy-making process
more transparent.
New Zealand, unlike many jurisdictions, has nothing in the way of lobbyist registers, although around a decade ago Parliament published a list of all visitors who had access cards to the precinct and as mentioned, ministers have begun publishing meeting diaries.
Standing a politician down for a period may have very little effect on how decisions are made but it is a much better look than the current appearance of the gamekeeper-turned-poacher regime we have now.
