If you’re wondering why Australian politics always seems to serve the same group of people, no matter who’s in government, the latest analysis from Transparency International Australia is very illuminating.
‘Every day, armies of big business lobbyists walk the halls of parliament meeting our MPs and ministers behind closed doors,’ said Clancy Moore, CEO of Transparency International Australia. ‘This unfettered access risks corrupting the policy-making process. The secrecy around lobbying harms our democracy. We must shine a light on who our MPs are meeting and why.’
In this regard, Canberra is way behind most of the states, which require the publication of ministers’ official diaries, and the Commonwealth has no independent regulator for oversight or enforcement of relations between politicians and lobbyists, unlike Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania, NSW and the ACT.
All in all, there are now 727 lobbyists registered in the federal parliament, which is three times the number of elected officials to which those lobbyists have access. If this situation continues on its current trajectory, we will eventually have to admit that there is no gap in Australia between the corporate and political world.
This is probably how we ended up with a toothless, secretive National Anti-Corruption Commission, and a behind-closed-doors productivity roundtable in which our natural environment – you know, that thing which underpins all Australian economic productivity – is only mentioned in terms of getting rid of ‘green tape’.
Revolving doors
Despite a theoretical 18 month cooling off period, under current PM Anthony Albanese the revolving door between the private sector and those ostensibly governing them is spinning faster than ever, delivering lucrative results for the lobbyists and their masters.
Have a look at any issue where the government is mysteriously hopeless, and you can see the results – gambling advertising for example.
Since 2011, at least eight federal ministers and one state premier have taken up roles as gambling lobbyists, joining 13 third party firms who work every day to ensure Australia’s parliaments make things worse for this country’s many problem gamblers and their families.
With mining it’s the same story. Since the 21st century began, almost every federal resources minister has gone straight to work in the fossil fuel sector after leaving parliament, regardless of party affiliation. Prominent examples include Ian Macfarlane, Gary Gray and Martin Ferguson. The exception is Keith Pitt. After having his job as resources minister taken by ScoMo (without being told), Pitt became the ambassador to the Holy See instead.
What about defence contracting and lobbying? Once again, the prospect of large paychecks and a lack of public scrutiny are very appealing to many politicians. Names like Peter Reith, Scott Morrison, Kim Beazley, Mike Kelly and Christopher Pyne are merely the visible extremities of a very large and ugly iceberg.
As Transparency International Australia has pointed out, not a single lobbyist has been sanctioned under the federal government’s code of conduct for almost three years, despite 14 breaches. If a lobbyist is found guilty of doing something improper, there are no fines at a federal level – the worst thing that can happen is removal from the register.
Corruption in crocodile country
If you want to see how bad things can get, have a look at the Northern Territory, which is currently being carved up by unconventional gas interests.
‘With no independent regulator, no diary disclosures, and no real penalties, conflicts of interest flourish and vested interests win while the public loses,’ according to Clancy Moore.
‘The revolving door in Northern Territory politics seems to be wide open in recent times, with a former NT deputy chief minister and mining minister parachuting into a job with a US gas company after leaving politics.’
Speaking of gas, Labor’s former federal senator Stephen Conroy is currently lobbying for the Abu Dhabi Oil Company and the US private equity firm Carlyle to be given the green light to take over Australian gas company Santos, which has already devastated vast areas of the country and accelerated the climate crisis. Conroy is reportedly working alongside Michael Choueifate, Albo’s former chief of staff.
Is there any reason to think that these people care about Australia’s interests? Who would know what they are promising, or have been promised?
As the hypocritical Washington Post has been saying on its masthead for years, democracy dies in darkness.
Originally from Canberra, David Lowe is an award-winning filmmaker, writer and photographer with particular interests in the environment and politics. He’s known for his campaigning work with Cloudcatcher Media.
You can find more of his writing at Patreon and Gumroad.
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