Where to from here, Jones?

To me, personally, Stephen Jones has always displayed a lack of media training, contrasting with the common practice among politicians of packaging their messages in a way that makes them more likeable – a prerequisite for a successful career in a profession often deemed as lacking in humility.

However, this doesn’t make him honest, as he has been known to exaggerate and embellish the truth on occasions, such as when he promised to “fix the hot mess” quickly.

If anything, Jones’ apparent lack of polish in media engagements makes him seem lacking in subject matter expertise, and frankly, uncaring.

This week, while speaking at an AIOFP dinner in Sydney, Jones didn’t hold back, telling advisers that the only way to reduce compliance costs in the industry is by fostering its growth – as if it were a simple task.

But where I believe he truly crossed the line is when he essentially cautioned advisers to beware of wolves in sheep’s clothing.

Perhaps it would have been accepted as a moment of genuine care if Jones hadn’t been guilty of the exact behaviour he was cautioning advisers about.

Namely, Jones told advisers: “Anybody who comes to you peddling simple solutions, be very, very, very suspicious of them.”

And don’t get me wrong, this is a fair and legitimate comment, but it was Jones who did just that a little over two years ago now.

In 2022, Minister Stephen Jones pledged to fix the “hot mess” left behind by the Morrison government, and quickly.

He said he planned to stem the flow of advisers exiting the industry and stop advisers from having to jump through “crazy hoops” in order to deliver advice, so that more Australians have access to high-quality, affordable financial advice.

However, here we are in May 2024, and all he has objectively done to date is make advice more expensive to deliver, and therefore, more inaccessible to Australians.

Is Jones warning advisers to be wary of him? Frankly, his term in office should have been accompanied by a cautionary note – “full of promise, but lacks execution”.

“If there’s anything I’ve learned over the last five years of dealing with this area, if there was a simple solution, it would have been put in place, and short-term bandaids are not sustainable. We’ve got to get sustainable solutions to these issues and I’m committed to doing that and I’ve got the support of my government to see these things through,” said Jones this week.

It’s regrettable that he didn’t opt for honesty from the beginning; it would have led to a smoother and less disappointing journey.

Ok, he does deserve credit for fronting up to advisers on many occasions and often fielding questions from a potentially hostile audience, but that doesn’t change his lack of real and genuine action.

So, where to from here, Jones?