The Association ran at a loss this year of $2,806, but the treasurer “expects the situation to improve next year as more MPs leave Parliament following the 2026 General Election.”
The Association reports that many former MPs struggle to find employment.
There are few other jobs that require no educational qualifications or work experience and pay $181,200 plus perks.
The Association says: “In many towns and cities in New Zealand, there is often not a place for an ex-MP.”
Many choose not to return to their electorates. A number make Wellington their home.
One used to take me to the airport in his taxi.
The problem is not unique to New Zealand. Robert Caro, in his brilliant biography of Lyndon Johnson, recounts how Johnson was horrified to discover that a lift operator in the Capitol was a former congressman.
My advice to candidates, probably too late, is to have another occupation they can return to.
My advice to those about to be unemployed in 22 days is to get back on the horse immediately. Take a job. Any job.
I was sacked by the electorate on a Saturday.
Being too young to qualify for super, I decided that night to take the first job I was offered.
At 8 am on Sunday morning, I accepted an outlandish proposal to pitch a deal to Vietnam Rail.
By Thursday I was in Hanoi.
A year later I was chairman of the Vietnam–New Zealand railway company.
Some long-serving former MPs who qualify for super take six months off before seeking a job and never work again.
My sympathies go to the electorate agents and parliamentary staffers who will also be made unemployed on election day.
Having worked for a defeated MP is not the best CV.
The Honourable Richard Prebble CBE is a former member of the New Zealand Parliament. Initially a member of the Labour Party, he joined the newly formed ACT New Zealand party under Roger Douglas in 1996, becoming its leader from 1996 to 2004. This article was sourced HERE
The Association says: “In many towns and cities in New Zealand, there is often not a place for an ex-MP.”
Many choose not to return to their electorates. A number make Wellington their home.
One used to take me to the airport in his taxi.
The problem is not unique to New Zealand. Robert Caro, in his brilliant biography of Lyndon Johnson, recounts how Johnson was horrified to discover that a lift operator in the Capitol was a former congressman.
My advice to candidates, probably too late, is to have another occupation they can return to.
My advice to those about to be unemployed in 22 days is to get back on the horse immediately. Take a job. Any job.
I was sacked by the electorate on a Saturday.
Being too young to qualify for super, I decided that night to take the first job I was offered.
At 8 am on Sunday morning, I accepted an outlandish proposal to pitch a deal to Vietnam Rail.
By Thursday I was in Hanoi.
A year later I was chairman of the Vietnam–New Zealand railway company.
Some long-serving former MPs who qualify for super take six months off before seeking a job and never work again.
My sympathies go to the electorate agents and parliamentary staffers who will also be made unemployed on election day.
Having worked for a defeated MP is not the best CV.
The Honourable Richard Prebble CBE is a former member of the New Zealand Parliament. Initially a member of the Labour Party, he joined the newly formed ACT New Zealand party under Roger Douglas in 1996, becoming its leader from 1996 to 2004. This article was sourced HERE
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