Landmark report into Canberra’s lobbying rules finds ‘revolving door’ loophole, gaps in transparency

Current lobbying rules fall well short of capturing all the influence agents pushing private interests inside Parliament House, according to a new report probing Canberra’s “revolving door”.

In its report published on Tuesday, the Australian Democracy Network (ADN) found seven in 10 of Australia’s top 300 performing companies were not listed as lobbying clients on the national register.

It also found that in-house government relations staff and peak body representatives enjoyed the same access as professional lobbyists without needing to abide by the same rules.

“A consultant paid to lobby the government may have to register, while someone employed directly by a corporation or industry association can undertake essentially the same activity outside the same disclosure regime,” report author Christian Slattery said.

New rules that kicked in from July aimed to separate registered lobbyists from the unregistered, creating a new class of pass granting the same access to Parliament House’s restricted areas.

While registered lobbyists have kept their orange passes, the new light blue pass has been introduced for the likes of government-relations staff and community advocates.

The changes also introduced stronger transparency measures, publishing pass holder details on the Parliament House website along with sponsor details for lobbyists.

But Mr Slattery said more had to be done, including to guard against former government officials “selling access” when they leave public service.

“We also found an extensive revolving door between government and professional lobbying, with almost two-thirds of registered lobbyists having previously worked in federal or state government,” he said.

The answer, according to the ADN, is a national lobbying act that covers all lobbyists equally and bolster transparency, including “independent oversight and meaningful enforcement”.

ADN chief executive Saffron Zomer said there is nothing inherently wrong with lobbying.

“The problem is when corporate money buys a level of access and influence ordinary Australians could never afford.

“That creates an imbalance in whose voices are heard and whose interests carry weight.”

She added that parliamentarians should ask themselves: “Should Australians be able to see who is seeking to influence their government, on whose behalf and about what?”