Kate Chaney (Curtin, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I'm pleased to rise in support of this important private member's motion, particularly so soon after introducing my private member's bill on restoring trust in federal elections this morning. Both this motion and my earlier bill are consistent with the role of the expanded crossbench in this parliament, pushing for better transparency, greater integrity and more accountability in politics.

The opaque role of lobbyists and the effect on policy are real concerns for a healthy democracy. When conducted in an open and transparent manner, lobbying can make a positive contribution to the development of public policy by ensuring that government understands the consequences of laws. But access is uneven. Not all voices have the money to pay for a lobbyist. Activities that are not transparent can have a negative effect on policymaking and public confidence in government. At the moment, some unregistered in-house lobbyists can wander the halls of parliament and walk unannounced into the offices of everyone, from ministers to backbenchers to crossbenchers, at any time, vastly increasing their ability to exert influence. As the Grattan Institute has observed, policymaking can be distorted if some interests are consistently heard while others are not. The Hon. Anthony Wheely KC, Chair of the Centre for Public Integrity, says it succinctly:

Lobbying has become a large unregulated industry. The revolving door sees MPs and Ministers using their connections to further private interests.

Third-party lobbying is currently governed by a code of conduct, with lobbyists listed on the lobbyist register and overseen by the Attorney-General's Department. Under the current system, only third-party lobbyists are required to register. If you're employed directly by a company to influence government and policy rather than through a third party, you're not covered by any regulation. If you can get a parliamentarian to authorise a sponsored APH access card, you can walk the halls of parliament freely. At 15 February this year, there were 1,791 people calling a current sponsored APH access card, with 891 of those passes being issued in the current parliament. Many of these are family members of parliamentarians, but this also includes an unknown number of passes issued by parliamentarians to in-house lobbyists. These in-house lobbyists are able to conduct invisible lobbying activity without any regulation or oversight. The Australian Professional Government Relations Association has its own code of conduct to support transparent, accountable and ethical practice, but not all lobbyists are members.

I strongly believe that we need greater governance over lobbyists. The UK and Canadian parliaments and the US Congress have legislated lobbying regimes rather than an administrative code of conduct. The law in those jurisdictions includes arrangements to allow scrutiny of passes granted by parliamentarians. Australia must follow this precedent, particularly in light of the fact that one anonymous parliamentarian in the 47th Parliament has already signed off on 55 sponsored access passes. We have the right to know who is accessing our ministers and our executive.

Reform should also include extending the cooling-off period for former MPs and senior government officials to three years, in keeping with international best practice, rather than the 12 or 18 months we have here in Australia. It should include a penalty for breach of lobbying rules and regulations. Lobbying misconduct should be punished by denying access to government, including for more minor breaches involving a failure to report on their lobbying activities. I urge the government to consider these reforms to ensure that policy decisions are not unduly influenced by the loud voices of the powerful minority rather than the interests of the Australian public.

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