Unmasking Parliament House lobbyists is welcome, but the job is only half done
Transparency International Australia has welcomed the decision to lift the secrecy around who holds sponsored “orange pass” access to Australian Parliament House, but has warned that the reform leaves the larger weaknesses in federal lobbying rules untouched.
For years, more than 2,000 people have been able to move freely through the private corridors of Parliament House without the public having any way of knowing who they are or who let them in. Publishing the identities of pass holders ends this arrangement, and provides transparency to the key question of who is walking the halls of the people’s house with unfettered access to members of parliament.
“Knowing who has unescorted access to ministers and MPs is the bare minimum the public should expect,” said Clancy Moore, CEO of Transparency International Australia. “But access passes are one symptom of a lobbying problem that is still far too easy to game.”
“This includes publishing ministers’ diaries, having a three-year ‘cooling off’ period to stop ministers parachuting into lobbying jobs when leaving parliament and making the lobbying register include in-house and industry association lobbyists not just lobbying firms.”
TI Australia’s research shows just how much further the federal government has to go. In the report Behind Closed Doors, which scored each Australian jurisdiction across ten key measures of lobbying regulation, the Commonwealth came equal last on 17 out of 100, tied with the ACT and the Northern Territory and behind every state. Queensland topped the list on 75, with proactive disclosure of ministerial diaries and lobbyist activity, a two-year cooling-off period and an independent regulator.
Transparency International Australia is urging the government to use the momentum from the review into orange passes to deliver the reforms that actually shift the balance back toward the public interest:
• Expand the definition of lobbyist that covers in-house lobbyists, industry associations and peak bodies, not just third-party consultants.
• Publish ministerial diaries, as already happens in New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria, so the public can see who is meeting decision-makers and when.
• Enforce a minimum three-year cooling-off period for ministers and senior public servants moving into lobbying roles.
• Establish an independent regulator with real powers to investigate and sanction breaches, so the code means something in practice.