The Issues
Anyone is free to lobby their local member, the parliament or even the Prime Minister. Lobbyists and activists alike operate to influence. They may be urging the government to take climate action more seriously or treat refugees humanely. They are often not-for-profit organisations arguing for important causes. So lobbying is important for democracy.
The challenge is to moderate the influence of large corporations and their vested interests, and to ensure there is more equal participation by individuals and other players.
There are no easy solutions to this problem. Professional lobbyists have greater access to members of parliament by virtue of the bucket-loads of money paid for dinners, tickets to the tennis and donations. Unlike most state lobbying registers, the Federal Register of Lobbyists is weak and does not show which individual lobbyist works for which clients.
Of all the harmful industries — alcohol, gambling, tobacco, and ultra-processed foods — gambling organisations hired the most lobby firms. Responsible Wagering had over 100 lobbyists, Sportsbet over 79, Star Entertainment 60 and Tabcorp over 50.
The only penalty for misconduct by lobbyists is removal from the Lobbyist Register. For some peculiar reason only ‘3rd party client’ lobbyists are subject to the Lobbying Code of Conduct, leaving in-house lobbyists for corporations and peak bodies (80% of all lobbyists) unregulated, even though they tend to be more influential.
Our Plan
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Ban all lobbying in person in Parliament House. After all, there are plenty of opportunities for communicating by other means.
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Remove the privilege of full access to Parliament House currently given to 1700 ‘3rd party’ and other lobbyists, requiring them to register and be escorted to and from an MP’s office.
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Limit lobbying activity to non-sitting times.
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Impose significant penalties on ministers and government representatives who step into lucrative roles as lobbyists within three years of their departure from the Parliament.
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Introduce legislation to oblige all lobbyists to register and comply with the requirements of a more stringent code of conduct.
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Place a ban on lobbyists providing hospitality to government representatives.
The Evidence
The Commonwealth system was described in a report by the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) in 2020 as a “light touch” approach to regulation. No one has been removed for a breach in the past five years. Lobbyists at the federal level also operate with less scrutiny than in states such as New South Wales and Queensland, where ministers are forced to publish their diaries, revealing meetings with lobbyists.
In the US, breaches of lobbying laws can result in fines and even prison sentences. In Canberra, the worst that can happen to a lobbyist is that they are struck off the register.
The safeguard in all of this is the Senate, where bills are scrutinised and inquiries held — anyone wishing to express a view about the matter at hand can make a submission and ask to appear before a committee. What is published and said at these inquiries is recorded and publicly available online, and anyone can attend. Very often these submissions lead to amendments in bills before the Parliament. The inquiry process is completely open and transparent.
The most effective measure to stop undue influence would be to put a cap on expenditure by political parties and their supporters, so that the need to raise cash for elections all but disappears. Corporate lobbyists would then need to apply logic, argument, and evidence just as others do.
By the by, Budget night is one of the most lucrative times of the year, when deals have been done and booze and money are flowing freely into the pockets of, mostly, the party in government. Fundraising dinners, $1,500/head cocktail parties, breakfast in the Great Hall, the National Press Club dinner and the Midwinter Ball all attract the who’s who of Corporate Australia.
To their great credit, Helen Haines, Rebekha Sharkie and Zali Steggall won a ban on the use of Parliament House for fundraising events.
In 2020 the ANAO audit of the Code was scathing about its management: the Attorney-General’s Department (AGD) had not implemented the recommendation from the 2018 Auditor-General Report; governance arrangements to oversee the implementation of the ANAO recommendation were limited in effectiveness; AGD had not developed a strategy to raise awareness of the Code; AGD had not systematically assessed risks to compliance with the Code and had not advised Government about the sufficiency of the current compliance framework in meeting the Code’s objectives; and AGD had not developed an evaluation framework for the Code and had not developed performance measures.
The current status of the Lobbyist Code of Conduct: at 3 April 2024, the Register listed 691 individual lobbyists, 331 lobbying organisations, 2285 clients, and 186 deregistered lobbying organisations. The Register does not publish data relating to reported or substantiated breaches of the Code, or actions taken by AGD following substantiated breaches.
The obligation to investigate suspected or reported breaches, and the power to use the penalty mechanisms to remove or disbar lobbyists and lobbying organisations found to have breached the Code, lies with the AGD Secretary. AGD informed the committee that there has been an increase in the number of breach reports over the past few years, increasing from two reports of potential breaches in 2021 to sixteen reports of potential breaches in 2023. AGD also advised that, if a breach has occurred, in the vast majority of cases it is resolved through cooperative engagement with the lobbyist.
This cooperative approach to compliance is reflected in a summary of investigations provided to the Senate via the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee during the 2023 24 Budget estimates. This evidence revealed that in most investigations over the 2022 23 period, the final determination was that ‘the department investigated the matter and determined that no further action was required’.
Unlike some other Australian jurisdictions, the Australian Government Register of Lobbyists and the associated Code of Conduct is not enshrined in legislation, therefore it is not compulsory for lobbyists to register.
— Former Secretary Martin Parkinson
References
- Transparency International — Picking a winner: How the gambling sector uses lobbyists to influence Canberra.