Minister Hodgson declares that we can find out about the “Big New Deal” when it is done; “I have done lots of deals without negotiating in the press,” he said.
At first I thought, wow, that is clear and makes sense.
Then I had another thought.
I have been involved in lots of deals too. And they were always negotiated and settled in private. The press was not involved, nor were others who might be interested, like employees or customers.
But the owners were always involved, and the bankers were kept apprised. This was the flaw in Minister Hodgson’s thinking. The owners and bill payers should be involved. They should either see the negotiations or they give the terms of reference for the deals and let their agents get on with the deal making. But they must have input.
This is one more reason why business leaders don’t make political leaders, the skills are not portable.