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There are good people in the lobbying industry. Lobbyists can serve a very useful purpose.

I'm not a lobbyist.

My four years as governor, I never met with a lobbyist once, never. Not one lobbyist got in my office.

In reality, everybody in Congress is a stand-in for some kind of lobbyist. In many cases it's difficult to tell whether it's the companies that are lobbying the legislators or whether it's the other way around.

I don't want to be a lobbyist. I want to provide strategic advice to companies. I said both of those things in the course of the interview, and I made clear this is a matter only for after I had become a private citizen and I was no longer a member of parliament.

I want to make it clear that the lobbying sector does an important job. It is very useful to the government to hear the views of a broad range of groups to make sure we get the best.

Too often government responds to the whispers of lobbyists before the cries of the people.