A parliamentary "cooling-off" period, or stand-down period, refers to restrictions preventing former politicians or ministers from immediately taking up lobbying roles or certain private sector jobs after leaving office. New Zealand, unlike many comparable countries, lacks any rule restricting the flow between the House of highest power and sectors with great interest in how that power is used.
Transparency International New Zealand is calling for a minimum one year cooling-off period in the area where a Minister has held responsibility with a similar requirement for those leaving senior public service.
The aim is to lessen the impact of the ‘revolving door’ reality where elected or appointed officials can trade on their personal connections, government relationships and recently held power, to immediately benefit the interests of a new employer or client.
A cooling-off period can reduce conflicts of interest, protect sensitive information from being shared, and increase public trust.
Balance needed
We acknowledge that leaders who have held significant portfolios may have unique decision-making and strategic skills that are highly valued in management or in governance. Similarly individuals who have worked at the highest levels in their fields such as industry or unions or community organisations can bring practical experience of those sectors to parliament.
Nevertheless a balance is needed between core realities of political power - influence with former colleagues, access to sensitive information and processes - and the length of time and scope of the cooling-off period. A cooling-off period is similar in principle from the restraint of trade provisions commonly used in the New Zealand private sector to protect commercially sensitive information and client relationships. In the context of the New Zealand parliament a fair balance would protect our democracy at the highest level from cronyism, misuse of insider knowledge and unfair advantage.
Many comparable countries have put something in place:
- Ireland has a mandatory one-year cooling-off period for Ministers, TDs (MPs), Senators, Special Advisors, senior civil servants, and local authority chief executives.
- Canada imposes a five-year prohibition on former designated public office holders—including Ministers and parliamentary secretaries—from engaging in lobbying activities on behalf of outside clients or organizations.
- Australia has an 18-month cooling-off period for Ministers, restricting lobbying in areas where they had recent official dealings in their ministerial role.
- The USA imposes post-employment restrictions of one to two years on former members of Congress, Cabinet secretaries, and senior executive branch officials.
- Members of the European Parliament face a six-month cooling-off period during which they cannot lobby sitting MEPs, while European Commissioners are subject to an 18-month cooling-off period.
Is there a revolving door in New Zealand?
We used what was available online to track the career paths of New Zealand Ministers, chiefs of staff (over 20 years), press secretaries, and senior political advisers over the last four parliamentary terms: where they had come from and where they had gone. We also looked at the movement of senior public servants. It is not a complete story.
Our intent is to look at systems rather than individuals, though frequent flyer organisations are named, so we are reporting on patterns. Clear patterns of movement emerge:
- Listed companies and representative organisations, whose business success (or that of their members) is closely tied to public policy, are more likely to recruit directors and senior executives with deep knowledge of political decision-making and established relationships with those in government.
- Chiefs of Staff to both Labour and National Prime Ministers have frequently come from lobbying firms and often return to them, including Thompson Lewis, Capital Government Relations, and Munro Church.
- There are at least 20 examples of Ministers and MPs moving into direct lobbying roles soon after leaving Parliament.
- Several Prime Ministers and former senior Ministers have joined the boards of listed New Zealand companies, including banks and Air New Zealand, shortly after leaving Parliament.
- There is a regular pattern of movement in both directions between representative organisations, think tanks, and senior positions in government, including both the public service and politics. Frequent participants include unions, farming and business organisations (including the retail sector), and think tanks such as the New Zealand Initiative and the Taxpayers' Union.
- Among senior public sector leaders, the Treasury-to-financial-services pipeline is a well-worn career path in New Zealand. There is also increasing movement of local government chief executives into, and out of, senior central government roles.
Political Party commitment needed
The National Party and Green Party have both called for cooling-off periods in the past.
We call on all political parties to include cooling-off periods as part of lobbying regulation, to reduce their use of urgency and to ensure real time transparency of political donations.
