Not speaking up is even more frightening than not saying anything

25/12/2023

Ahakoa haere tatou ki hea. Ka haere tahi tatou katoa.

Recently, I received messages from friends, family, and clients responding to an article I wrote for e-Tangata.

The messages came from a diverse range of people: those on the hauora and regulatory frontlines, current and former public servants, my Australian and Pacific clients, representatives from private sector companies I have collaborated with, and my iwi, hapū, and whānau ora clients.

The messages were overwhelmingly supportive except for one or two and a few trolls. There were two types of messages.

The first type related to an appreciation for the context I offered in the article, the question I raised about whether the current government has a “radical reform” or “reset” mandate, and my analysis of the government’s delivery confidence risks that, in my humble opinion, Cabinet will need to actively manage if they are to overcome the “delivery and governance problems” that sank the last government.

I did this analysis because so few media outlets had gone through the details of the coalition agreements and tried to map them holistically to the broader goals, let alone make an assessment of whether the coalition agreements are sufficient and whether the governance arrangements are robust enough to oversee the various “projects”.

The second type was about how brave I was to put my thoughts out in public. These messages came out of a concern for my well-being, as some influential people had not taken kindly to me offering my analysis.

In my response to every message, I said I stood by my analysis and decision to offer it publically. Frankly, if those in governance positions cannot actively manage risk, they are unfit for office: identifying, mitigating and overseeing risk is a critical pre-condition of good governance.

Also, I am non-partisan: I have contributed financially to every political party in Parliament except for one. I am only interested in whether our shared institutions contribute positively to Aotearoa-Hou and whether individual politicians have the skills and experience to do a good job, i.e., public sector governance.

Finally, I resigned all my crown appointments and contracts the day before the article was published: that seemed the right thing to do.

For those who are hesitant to speak out, please push yourself to do so. The worst that can happen is that some anonymous trolls will email you nasty messages. I’m positive these messages are from the same person and the same computer: so I am unconcerned about my safety.

Also, over the past 20-odd years, I’ve learned that speaking up gets easier with time. And, as I enter my “kōkā years,” I have finally learned that not speaking up is even more frightening than not saying anything, especially in an area where you are the expert.

Also, I’m not anti-government – I just don’t like bad governance or bad public policy.

Kia haumaru te noho, ngā manaakitanga.