Australia’s “ridiculous” lobbying transparency regime fails to recognise a former state premier, deputy premier, and chief minister as former government officials.
The federal lobbyist register provides the only real window into the opaque world of lobbying, aiming to give the public an idea of which lobbyists have been hired by corporate interests to influence government decisions.
One of its most important functions is to flag former members of government who are now lobbying for private interests, a requirement that recognises the added power they wield in accessing and lobbying decision-makers.
But experts have warned that the transparency regime is far too narrow. Currently, former federal opposition MPs or staffers, state premiers or ministers, and senior party officials are not counted as “former government representatives”.
On the current register, the former Northern Territory chief minister Paul Henderson, Queensland premier, Robert Borbidge, West Australian opposition leader, Eric Ripper, and deputy South Australian premier, Graham Ingerson, have all registered as lobbyists without needing to publicly disclose their history in government.
Other examples found by Guardian Australia include former chiefs of staff for Labor leaders Bill Shorten, South Australian premier Mike Rann, and Tasmanian premier Lara Gidding, as well as advisers to Christopher Pyne and Jeff Seeney, none of whom are listed as former government representatives.
There is no suggestion whatsoever that these individuals have breached any rule or behaved unethically. They are simply meeting the rules as required.
Australian National University political scientist John Warhurst has studied the lobbying code and register extensively. He said the register suffered from serious deficiencies, and described the examples highlighted by Guardian Australia as “ridiculous”.
“It is ridiculous. All you can say is it’s probably the best system we’ve got,” he said.
“It’s a bit like the rules governing political donations. It’s better than nothing. But there’s so much that can either be hidden or not reached by a lobbying register.”
The transparency requirements of the federal register compare poorly to some state and territory jurisdictions.
In Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory, for example, lobbyists provide added detail on the nature of their role in government, regardless of whether it was at a state or federal level. The ACT requires quarterly updates from a lobbyist on who they lobbied and for what purpose. Victoria requires former government representatives, both from a federal and state government background, to distinguish their history as either being a political staffer, a minister or parliamentary secretary, or a member of a party executive.
What do lobbyists do?
Put simply, a lobbyist is someone who attempts to influence government policy or decisions on behalf of either a client or their own organisation. Ethical lobbying is a valuable and important element of any healthy democracy. It helps those who have a stake in government policy to convey their views and expertise. There are two broad types of lobbyists: third-party lobbyists, who are engaged as consultants, and in-house lobbyists, who work directly for corporations or interest groups.
Who hires lobbyists?
For many Australians, lobbying conjures images of powerful corporations working to sway politicians behind the scenes. There is a truth in that. The big banks, mining and energy giants, pharmaceutical companies, casinos, Amazon, Google and Facebook all engage lobbyists. But lobbyists also work on behalf of not-for-profits and community groups, including for veterans, social workers, aged-care staff, school principals and environmental organisations.
What is the lobbyist register?
The lobbyist register is the public's only window into the world of lobbying. It's a publicly available online list of lobbying firms, individual lobbyists and their clients. The register was a huge step forward when it was introduced in 2008, but remains frustratingly opaque. It doesn't tell us who is lobbying whom, about what, or when. Compare that to the ACT, where lobbyists are required to file quarterly reports on their activities, or NSW, where ministers are required to publish their diaries. The federal register is also completely blind to the activities of in-house lobbyists.
What is the lobbyist code of conduct?
The code tells lobbyists how they must behave when approaching the government and is designed to maintain ethical standards. But the code is not legislated and has no real teeth. It goes largely unenforced and the punishments are weak. The worst sanction available to authorities is removing a lobbyist from the register. The US and Canada have fines or jail terms for law breaches.
Who keeps an eye on lobbyists?
Federally, it's the prime minister's own department that loosely oversees lobbying. It takes on a largely administrative role, rather than an investigative or regulatory one. Its core job is to maintain the register and communicate the code's requirements to lobbyists. It lacks independence, relies on reports of bad lobbying and rarely, if ever, takes enforcement action.
Melbourne University lobbying expert George Rennie said the federal regime “failed to capture” the power wielded by state ministers and senior members of the opposition in “critical matters of state”.
Those matters of state included “purchasing decisions that might benefit the organisations or individuals they now lobby for”.
“It also means that the problem of ‘access’ is made worse: a former shadow minister, state minister, senior staffer, or factional leader who now acts as a lobbyist has an ability to meet with contemporary decision makers that few others have,” Rennie said.
“Considering the need for plurality, relatively unbiased access, and a ‘marketplace of ideas’ in senior decision making, this situation is fundamentally undemocratic.”
It’s far from the only flaw of the federal lobbying regime, experts say.
One of the most persistent criticisms is that it entirely ignores lobbyists employed directly by the most powerful corporations and peak bodies, typically as government relations staff. These “in-house” lobbyists are not subject to the lobbying code of conduct and do not need to place themselves on the register, meaning they avoid any transparency.
It puts the federal system in stark contrast with Victoria, where the government has attempted to bring at least some transparency to in-house lobbying. Government affairs staff in Victoria are required to list themselves on a publicly-available register, run by the state government.
The same rules apply in the United States and Canada, where in-house lobbyists are captured by lobbying laws and are subject to the same stringent requirements as third-party consultant lobbyists.
The chief executive of Transparency International, Serena Lillywhite, said the current regime of oversight and monitoring had proven “ineffective”.
Lillywhite wants to see an independent body set up to monitor the register and oversee the code.
“The lobbying register has recently moved from PM&C to the Attorney General’s Department. Hopefully that will improve things,” she said.
“However, what is still missing in the current integrity framework is independent oversight an monitoring of the register and lobbying code.”
This reporting is supported by the Susan McKinnon Foundation through the Guardian Civic Journalism Trust
