Why is Minister Jones choosing paid events over addressing advisers directly?

Instead of addressing advisers directly through his own press team, Financial Services Minister Stephen Jones is attending several Conexus Financial events — events that will ask advisers to fork out a minimum of $170 per seat.

It’s almost as if Jones is trying to make advisers pay for the privilege of hearing his thoughts on issues that are of vital importance to their profession.

Enticing advisers to attend, Conexus promises “good insights”. And, given the hot topics at hand include QAR, it's probably fair to assume that these "good insights" relate to Michelle Levy's final recommendations and possibly the experience pathway. 

Maybe Jones believes that only those who are truly invested in the industry (read: willing to pay to hear him speak) are eligible to hear his thoughts or worthy enough to share their thoughts with him?

Even the chief executive officer of the Financial Planning Association (FPA), Sarah Abood, has spoken out against further delays, stressing just how vital it is for Jones to provide timeframes on the aforementioned matters.

Speaking on an ifa podcast, Ms Abood said: “We’re keen to see timeframes, we’re keen to see structure so that people know what the outcomes are going to be for them, what their opportunity is to have input into them, and when they’re going to know the answer.”

“There are many people hanging on, okay, so what are we going to do?”

One thing is for sure — if Jones wants to keep advisers onside, he will need to start communicating with them directly and without delay. Otherwise, he may find that the industry’s patience wears thin, and his “good insights” will fall on deaf ears.

ifa reached out to Jones’ media team for comment and was told that the Minister wasn’t aware Conexus’ events would be of the closed nature. ifa is waiting to hear back on whether Mr Jones will address the issues publicly before speaking on them at the Conexus paid event.