Unsurprisingly Power is excited about what the next few weeks may hold in the US presidential campaign.
Perhaps it’s the freedom from the grind of daily political life that allows time to get so much joy from it.
After leaving parliament he took a senior executive role at Westpac NZ and was in the running for the top job – serving as acting CEO for several months in 2021 until the vacant position was filled.
“I applied to be the CEO,” he says. “I didn’t get the job. Catherine’s [McGrath] doing a great job in that role. So I was sort of thinking about, you know, what might be, what might be next?”
Perhaps getting the top job at Westpac NZ might have required doing some time with the parent company in Australia, Money Talks suggests.
“I don’t know the answer to that,” Power says.
But he is very firm about his commitment to New Zealand and to growing our economy.
“That’s one of the great things about Fisher Funds, you’ve got this two-third ownership from the Toi Foundation based out of the Taranaki Community Trust, the old Taranaki Community Trust.
“A big chunk of what we do goes into that community every year. I’m from the provinces. You know, I don’t identify myself as an Aucklander as such, even though Auckland has been very good to me. I’m from the Manawatū and I’m delighted to see those communities do well out of an organisation like ours.”
Power grew up in Palmerston North.
“Dad was in cars and mum in retail, real estate,” he says.
”I guess what was instilled in me was you work hard… but as well as that was the idea that you’re never quite sure when things are going to get hard and so to make sure that a portion [of your earnings] is swept into a savings account. That’s something that Lisa and I have tried to instil in our boys as well.”
Power worked at the local supermarket and says he spent most of his money on books.
“Which sounds slightly geeky, but that was true,” he says. “I’ve always been a collector of books.”
But he does recall splashing out in the Miami Vice era on a “particularly vivid, short-sleeved pink shirt with a vertical zip on it… as an early investment”.
He also recalls, with great passion, the politics and economics of that era.
“In 1984, when I was in fourth form, as it then was called, I can vividly remember a great teacher, who had the pictures of the fourth Labour government cabinet up on our wall in our homeroom. A couple of things resonated.
“The first was just the different way of managing the economy. And then secondly, this stayed with me, the power of the first term of a Government.
“So watching Roger Douglas, Richard Prebble, Mike Moore and that band. I mean, Geoffrey Palmer was an extraordinary legislator.”
That influenced his approach 25 years later when he came to be in Government himself, he says.
But while he was impressed with the sweep of the fourth Labour Government, Power says there was never any question that he was a National Party man.
“It was always National. I have this view on small government. I believe in the power of market economies. I believe in those things very, very strongly,” he says.
He concedes he is probably what might now be called one of the more liberal members of the National Party.
Listen to the full episode to hear more from Simon Power.
Money Talks is a podcast run by the NZ Herald. It isn’t about personal finance and it isn’t about economics – it’s just well-known New Zealanders talking about money and sharing some stories about the impact it’s had on their lives and how it has shaped them.
The series is hosted by Liam Dann, business editor-at-large for the Herald. He is a senior writer and columnist, and also presents and produces videos and podcasts. He joined the Herald in 2003.
Money Talks is available on iHeartRadio, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
