'Toothless' federal lobbying code targeted by Independents for major reform
Independent MP Dr Monique Ryan has introduced her first private member's bill, aiming to strengthen lobbying laws and limit the revolving door, as part of her broader campaign to "clean up politics"
Draft legislation that would close the revolving door between government and industry while also strengthening Australia’s lax lobbying laws has been introduced to Parliament by the independent MP for Kooyong, Dr Monique Ryan.
Dr Ryan said the current lobbying code “is toothless and it has failed”. She noted that the code was too limited, did not engender transparency, and was not enforced.
“Lobbying leads to corruption if it prompts decision-making that is not merit-based, honest and transparent.”
The federal register of lobbyists does not cover the vast majority of people lobbying politicians: it applies only to third-party lobbyists, who make up just 20 per cent of lobbyists. Third-party lobbyists are those who operate on behalf of a client as a paid professional, either individually or as an employee of a lobbying firm.
The remaining 80 per cent of people lobbying inside Parliament House include people employed by corporations as government relations advisers, company chief executives, not-for-profits, charities, think tanks, research centres, religious organisations, trade unions and others.
There is less scrutiny of lobbyists at the federal level than in states such as New South Wales and Queensland, where ministers have long been required to publish their diaries and reveal meetings with lobbyists.
In a move that will add to pressure on the federal government to do likewise, the Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, has announced a new ministerial code of conduct requiring the state’s ministers to publish summaries of their diaries, including “scheduled” meetings with lobbyists.
In 2020, the Australian National Audit Office called the federal lobbying code a non-legislated “light touch” approach.
Dr Ryan noted that as of 5 November 2023, the lobbying register included 703 third-party lobbyists. “Forty per cent of those were former politicians, ministerial advisers and senior public servants”.
Moreover, registered third-party lobbyists outnumber politicians by a factor of three to one, given that there are 76 senators and 151 MPs.
Add the unregistered 80 per cent of influencers roaming the halls of parliament and the real ratio is a staggering 15 to one.
Senator David Pocock achieves senate inquiry into lobbying
Independent senator for the ACT, David Pocock, put a motion to the Senate on Wednesday to establish an inquiry that will examine aspects of Ryan’s bill.
The motion proposed that a senate committee inquire into the appropriateness of the current lobbying code. Pocock wanted the inquiry to look into upgrading transparency by publishing ministerial diaries and releasing details of parliamentary pass holders and their sponsors, among other things. He also proposed it examine the effectiveness of transparency arrangements to ensure decision making by the executive is not being unduly influenced by vested interests.
The majority of Pocock’s proposals were removed by the government in the horse-trading that took place to secure government support for the inquiry. A significantly watered-down version of Pocock’s motion was passed.
The inquiry will examine the adequacy of transparency arrangements relating to the lobbyist register. This will include the sponsored pass system giving lobbyists access to Australian Parliament House with particular regard to transparency and publication of names of lobbyists who are pass holders and their sponsors.
Pocock’s original motion and the final motion that was agreed can be seen beneath this article.
The inquiry will run until the end of April 2024 through the Finance and Public Administration References Committee.
Senator Pocock said he’d been shocked since the election at the lack of transparency and the resistance to establishing a more open and accountable system.
“Over 2,000 people have unfettered, all hours access to Parliament House’s private areas,” he said. “Currently there is no publicly available list about who has this level of access or who gave it to them.”
Transparency continues to decline under Albanese government
The Albanese government has not ensured transparency in important areas of public interest, such as AUKUS, the nuclear waste dump, and Australia’s weapons exports.
Another important example is the new National Anti-Corruption Commission, which Anthony Albanese promised Australians during the election campaign would be “transparent”. It isn’t. The NACC has been established with secret hearings as the default setting. Public hearings are only permitted in “exceptional circumstances”.
No enforcement of lobbying code
Ryan described as “dismal” the enforcement of the lobbying code by successive governments. In 2018, the auditor-general reported that no lobbyists had been suspended by government in the previous five years, despite at least 11 possible breaches of the code having been reported.
The ABC reported in November that no one had been removed for a breach in the past five years either.
“The US, the UK, Canada, and New Zealand all have stronger lobbying regulations than we do,” said Dr Ryan.
She gave three reasons for regulating lobbying: to prevent corrupt behaviour by lobbyists and public officials; to stop secret lobbying by vested interests and ensure fairness in decision making; and to ensure government decisions are based on merit.
Dr Ryan’s proposed Lobbying Act contains much-needed reforms. It:
legislates the code of conduct
covers in-house and third-party lobbyists
requires quarterly returns by lobbyists showing who they met with, for how long, where, and why
requires the publication of ministers’ diaries
bans ministers and senior staff from working as lobbyists for three years after leaving parliament
creates a register of senior government appointments showing who is working where and when during and after their time in parliament
restricts the involvement of lobbyists in election campaigns
imposes fines and bans for breaches of the regulations.
“Rather than a self-regulated code bedevilled by intrinsic and systemic conflicts of interest, the [new] code will be independently enforced by the independent integrity commission,” said Dr Ryan.
“A code of conduct which allows our Defence Minister to discuss defence business with a global contracting firm in cabinet and then take a job with that firm nine days after leaving politics is a code which is corrosive of public trust in democracy,” she added, in a pointed reference to Christopher Pyne’s post-politics role with EY.
A spokesperson for Attorney General Mark Dreyfus told the ABC that the Albanese government has “no proposals to change the code” but welcomes suggestions.
Relevant extracts from Senate Hansard 6.12.23
Senator David Pocock’s original motion
The Government’s amendment to the above motion