Commerce Minister departs

The Prime Minister has confirmed that the Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs David Clark will retire at the next election.

Tuesday, December 13th 2022, 1:22PM 6 Comments

A number of other MPs and ministers will go at the same time.

Clark has been a highly visible and widely criticised minister by the finance community through his stewardship of the deeply unpopular Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act (CCCFA).

Although he inherited it from his predecessor Kris Faafoi, a lot of the work to push it through was done under his watch, against constant criticism from the industry.

Announcing Clark's departure, Jacinda Ardern said Clark and the other departing politicians had made important contributions to the government and the lives of New Zealanders.

"These decisions come in the midst of Labour's selection process for seats in the 2023 elections. MPs have made these decisions in good time to allow succession planning for both Cabinet and caucus.”

A Cabinet reshuffle is planned for early next year.

Ardern said Clark had led the Government's work on supermarket reform.

She also defended his role over the CCCFA, saying he had demonstrated a focus on protecting the most vulnerable through consumer finance reform.

Clark entered Parliament in 2011 and his departure was foreshadowed last week.

He said now was the right time to go – he had loved his job but after a decade it was time to put his family first.

Tags: David Clark

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Comments from our readers

On 13 December 2022 at 3:14 pm Murray Weatherston said:

Dr Clark is only the last of a long list of lowly ranked Ministers (at least at the time they each held the portfolio) in the Commerce and Consumer Affairs portfolio who will hardly leave a footprint in the sand.
Simon Power who jumped ship to Westpac 8 or 9 years ago was the last heavy hitter in the portfolio.
From memory since then the Minister has been Foss, Goldsmith, Dean, Fafooi and Clark.
I can't recall a major speech or self-contribution from any of them as Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs.
Sad really. Especially as so much carnage has been inflicted on the industry, which will only lead to higher costs for consumers.

On 13 December 2022 at 3:49 pm Amused said:

No loss for consumers.

On 13 December 2022 at 8:05 pm John Milner said:

So very true Murray. I sat in private meetings with both Dean and Goldsmith. In retrospect, I should have spent the time mowing my lawns. At least then, something would have been achieved.

On 14 December 2022 at 7:21 am Pragmatic said:

I had correspondence with both Faafoi & Clark, only to discover by their responses that neither had any knowledge or apparent interest in the financial services industry.

On 14 December 2022 at 10:33 am w k said:

the calibre of the people appointed to look after the financial sector speaks volume of the level of importance, interest and priority the govt place in the financial industry.

On 14 December 2022 at 1:13 pm JeffQV said:

Best news of the year. His crippling consumer confidence finance act has done untold damage in the mortgage sector trying to fix a problem that does not exist.

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