Jacinda Ardern cashes in on her time in public office

The lucrative ex-politician speaker circuit - image by AI

Jacinda Ardern is cashing in on her celebrity and former role as New Zealand Prime Minister. She's joined the top tier of political celebrities on the international speakers' circuit and is making millions of dollars.

This news was broken as the frontpage story on The Post on Saturday in an article by Kelly Dennett titled "Dame Jacinda Ardern a hit on the six-figure global speaking circuit". According to this, "some of the world's biggest companies are thought to be spending six figures per event to hear her speak." One of the organisations claiming to represent Ardern in the Asian market told the newspaper that Ardern's fee for events was about $316,000.

According to the Post, Ardern "has been criss-crossing the globe as a keynote speaker in private, paid or public speaking engagements ‒ from discussing leadership and environmental sustainability at a closed-door Bank of Singapore event, to pontificating on socially-just architectural design at the American Institute of Architects' annual conference in San Francisco, to chatting climate change in New York City this week."

The Post-politics speaking circuit is the new form of business networking

Traditionally, politicians leave public office to retire or simply carry on their campaigning advocacy on a not-for-profit basis. However, there is now a lucrative trend in which politicians can leverage their time in office to make millions of dollars in talking to businesses and elite NGOs. Ex-politicians' incomes are, therefore significantly greater than they received in public office.

These ex-politicians are in high demand to help businesspeople understand the political world, often so that they can better influence the public policy process. There is now an industry that has built up around recruiting and selling former decision-makers as if they are rock stars. A "speaking circuit" exists for former prime ministers and presidents to give keynote speeches for which they receive exorbitant appearance fees.

Bill Clinton, the most famous speaker on the circuit, has amassed an estimated US$80m fortune after leaving the Whitehouse with relatively little wealth. And Barrack Obama is on the same trajectory – he even travelled to Auckland in 2018 for a speech paid for by the New Zealand Government.

Former British PM Tony Blair has also built up a fortune of around £60m from speaking and consulting work, especially for banks and foreign governments. His Tory successor, David Cameron, has also been busy on the international circuit, making a fortune from speaking in China. More recently, former PM Teresa May declared £408,200 for six speeches to the Cambridge Speaker Series. And Boris Johnson, on leaving 10 Downing St, immediately received a £2.5m advance payment for his upcoming speeches around the world.

New Zealand politicians on the speaker circuit

Jacinda Ardern isn't the only former New Zealand politician making a fortune from such appearances. John Key also headed off to the US after leaving office and made large amounts of money – he won't say how much, except: "it's quite remarkable actually what they pay". He signed up with the New York-based Harry Walker Agency, which also facilitated other top speakers like Clinton.

Key's finance minister and successor for PM, Bill English, has participated in paid speaking events, too. Even before he left Parliament, in 2017, he was reported as the guest speaker to the exclusive Table Club, which held an event at Hurakia Lodge on Rakino Island in the Hauraki Gulf. The 27 ultra-high net worth individuals who travelled to the event by helicopter to hear English speak, only qualified by having more than $50 million to invest.

Jenny Shipley has been another former National PM in demand. Her speciality has been "global megatrends, economic and social reform, and the growing role of women in politics".

Most former New Zealand politicians use the Saxton Global agency, which also promotes former Australian leaders such as John Howard, Julia Gillard, Malcolm Turnbull, and Paul Keating. Their local Auckland agency, "Celebrity Speakers", lists the following politicians on their books: John Key, Helen Clark, Bill English, Jenny Shipley, Simon Bridges, Paula Bennett, Steven Joyce, Tim Groser, and Maggie Barry.

Although the website doesn't list who the speakers have been hired by, there some signs in the feedback from clients: English has spoken to "Think China", Clark to the Asia Development Bank and PWC, Bridges to the Institute of Internal Auditors, Bennett to L'Oreal, Joyce to DMS Progrowers and the Bay of Plenty Regional Council, Tim Groser to the Institute of Finance Professionals, and Shipley has spoken to Barfoot and Thompson, as well as the more mysterious NZ Leather & Shoe Research Association (who gave feedback that she was "Authoritative and absorbing. Everyone was greatly impressed by Jenny – she's a terrific person").

Is it ethical for former politicians to enrich themselves by talking to the wealthy?

In the weekend, the Post quoted PR/lobbying expert Jane Vesty defending Ardern's new money-making scheme, saying that the former PM is "a natural choice for corporate and public speaking events". In general, Vesty argued that former politicians deserve to be well-paid through such events: "After years of public service, they are entitled to harness their intellectual property, for example through books, public speaking, think tanks and boards."

This idea that politicians should monetise their time in office is new. In the past, former prime ministers and senior politicians were expected to carry out public service after they finished their time in the Beehive. After all, they are well-remunerated in the top job. Ardern earned about half a million dollars a year, making her one of the highest-paid heads of government in the world. And, as with other former PMs, she can now claim a post-PM allowance and all sorts of travel, perks and security arrangements. And, of course, all politicians have access to their gold-plated superannuation scheme. These generous arrangements are meant to alleviate the temptations for PMs to have post-politics careers in mind while governing.

Yet, that is the concern – if prime ministers and Cabinet Ministers see their time as decision-makers as simply a stepping stone to more lucrative post-politics careers then it might have an impact on what they do while in office. The problem is that as this becomes a more ingrained conveyor belt, whereby politicians have expectations of a lucrative post-Beehive career as a result of their time in power, then it can have an anticipatory impact on what they do in power.

It makes them more inclined to consciously or unconsciously use their time in office essentially as a job interview for the future. They become more likely to create a positive global image for themselves, with less concern for their domestic popularity. Governing becomes more about the world stage and being on the covers of international magazines than improving life for those at the bottom of the heaps of society. And, of course, politicians with an eye on future global jobs will be more inclined to stay on the right side of international interests, from banks to big tech.

Is it time to re-think the role of former PMs?

The potential conflict of interest problem is likely to worsen as politicians get younger. In the past, politicians came into power after having careers in other industries entirely separate to politics. In this sense, going into Parliament was more of a post-employment role, rather than a stepping stone to a more highly-paid business job. In fact, many former PMs died in office or went into retirement.

Now, politicians enter Parliament and make it to the top jobs at a younger age. So, whereas in the past, former PMs tended to be much older and would retire from public life entirely once departing politics, our younger, former PMs and ministers expect to move on to other endeavours. Hence, Ardern is only 44 years old, and like Key or English, she could be monetising her time in office for many decades to come.

New Zealand has no rules to prevent politicians from leveraging their time in public office for profit. In other countries, there are attempts to make sure that conflicts of interests don't occur in this regard.

For example, in the UK, the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments is supposed to clear any such contracts before former politicians sign them in the few years after they leave high office. This is because there are concerns about the impact of senior politicians accepting what might be seen as "after-office bribe payments" when such politicians still have influence with politicians and officials and can influence decision-making.

British journalist and elite-watcher Simon Kuper wrote about this in the Guardian in July arguing that there needed to be stronger rules to stop former PMs cashing in on their time in office. He argued: "The sight of the country's best known politicians renting themselves out to dubious clients is the most vivid possible symbol of ruling class corruption" and "the problem of what to do with former PMs has now reached crisis levels".

Kupar argues, "Being PM has become a CV-burnishing temp role, a trampoline to seriously paid gigs. Each new entrant into Downing Street is effectively handed a multimillion-pound cheque they can start cashing the day they are kicked out."

It's therefore becoming important to treat this "revolving door" situation more seriously. Along with politicians leaving power to earn more money as lobbyists, the business-speaking gigs can also be seen as part of the new ecosystem in which the corporate and political worlds are increasingly joined up.

It's unclear to what extent a "restraint on trade" clause could be imposed on New Zealand politicians wanting to profit from their new found political celebrity status. The Cabinet Manual could easily give some instruction on this, but it wouldn't be binding.

Perhaps we need to start treating our former politicians like national assets – encouraging them to be part of ongoing public conversations and debates. Helen Clark is probably the best example of this – but of course, it's not always welcomed, especially by her own political party. Likewise, with Key. It doesn't mean that such former PMs have to be given government appointments – but just welcomed more into the debates, at least on a not-for-profit basis.

In the UK, Kupar argues that former PMs should be constrained in their profit-making activities:

"Ex-PMs should be made to wait perhaps a decade before they can do consulting work for companies – bearing in mind that 'consulting' is often a euphemism for lobbying, or for identifying the right people to lobby in government. Each new PM would have to sign a legally binding contract accepting these terms. If that deterred grasping people from seeking the premiership, then fine. These free measures would instantly attract a better class of person to the job, reduce corruption, deflate populism, keep experience inside government, and do PMs a favour by preserving their reputations from their own greed."

Maybe Ardern will have to start thinking about her reputation, which could be severely damaged if she is associated with leveraging her celebrity and public office experience for personal profit. She might think that doing some charity work and celebrity appearances on the side for "good causes" might offset the profiteering, but that won't wash.

Perhaps it's time for Helen Clark to have a word with her protégé and remind Ardern about the merits of public service over exorbitant profits. She could even follow Clark's footsteps and set up "the Jacinda Ardern Foundation". However, if that just became another business vehicle for making money from speeches and consulting to the wealthy and powerful, then it'd really just be "business as usual".

Dr Bryce Edwards

Political Analyst in Residence, Director of the Democracy Project, School of Government, Victoria University of Wellington

Key Sources

Kelly Dennett (The Post): Dame Jacinda Ardern a hit on the six-figure global speaking circuit (paywalled)

Simon Kuper (The Guardian): The big idea: why we need to stop former prime ministers cashing in

Jonathan Milne, Audrey Malone and Craig Hoyle (Stuff): Life after politics: Former PMs advise Bill English on what to do – and what not to do

Stewart Sowman-Lund (Spinoff): No, Jacinda Ardern isn't joining the paid speaker circuit