Independent watchdog is needed to investigate breaches and mete out significant punishment, experts say

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Labor has said there is “no reason” misconduct in the lobbying sector would not be covered by its proposed federal integrity commission, but has stopped short of saying it would actively police lobbying rules.

The national integrity commission, proposed by Labor if it is elected, is still being designed, but a spokeswoman for the shadow attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, said its remit could extend to lobbying.

“The seven design principles laid out by Bill Shorten ensure Labor’s national integrity commission will capture a wide range of misconduct across the public service, parliament, governor general, judiciary and statutory office holders,” she said. “There is no reason why misconduct involving inappropriate interaction with the lobbying industry would be excluded from this.”

Experts largely agree that the current oversight of lobbying is compromised by the lack of any independent enforcement agency to investigate breaches of the lobbying rules and mete out significant punishment.

Guardian Australia revealed earlier this week that agencies across the country have comprehensively failed to enforce lobbying rules in their jurisdictions, including at a federal level.

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An integrity commission is likely to have strong investigative powers, but would not necessarily enforce the lobbying code of conduct. It would likely instead go after lobbyists who were part of a broader corruption case.

The Australia Institute accountability researcher Hannah Aulby said the independent integrity commission should be established as a matter of urgency.

“No agency currently has the jurisdiction or investigative powers to provide proper oversight of our federal government and public service,” Aulby said. “Many allegations of corruption go without investigation.”

“The public has a right to know that our representatives are always acting in the public interest. A national integrity commission will be the public’s independent watchdog.”

Guardian Australia revealed earlier this week that 52% of currently registered lobbyists had a history within government and one in four were former political staffers. Another significant cohort of ex-government ministers and politicians now work directly for big business and peak interest groups, but are not counted as lobbyists under Australia’s narrow oversight regime.

University of Melbourne researcher George Rennie, writing for Guardian Australia, said a well-resourced independent integrity commission must be able to police the revolving door between politics and lobbying, and gifts.

Quick guide Political lobbying in Australia: the basics Show Hide What do lobbyists do? Lobbyists attempt to influence government policy or decisions on behalf of either a client or their own organisation. Ethical lobbying is a valuable and important element of a healthy democracy. It helps those who have a stake in government policy to convey their views and expertise. There are two broad types of lobbyists: third-party lobbyists, who are engaged as consultants; in-house lobbyists, who work directly for corporations or interest groups. Who hires lobbyists? For many Australians, lobbying conjures images of powerful corporations working to sway politicians behind the scenes. There is a truth in that. The big banks, mining and energy giants, pharmaceutical companies, casinos, Amazon, Google and Facebook all engage lobbyists. But lobbyists also work on behalf of not-for-profits and community groups, including for veterans, social workers, aged-care staff, school principals and environmental organisations. What is the lobbyist register? The lobbyist register is the public's only window into the world of lobbying. It's a publicly available online list of lobbying firms, individual lobbyists and their clients. The register was a huge step forward when it was introduced in 2008, but remains frustratingly opaque. It doesn't tell us who is lobbying whom, about what, or when. Compare that with the ACT, where lobbyists are required to file quarterly reports on their activities, or NSW, where ministers are required to publish their diaries. The federal register is also completely blind to the activities of in-house lobbyists. What is the lobbyist code of conduct? The code tells lobbyists how they must behave when approaching the government and is designed to maintain ethical standards. But the code is not legislated and has no real teeth. It goes largely unenforced and the punishments are weak. The worst sanction available to authorities is removing a lobbyist from the register. The US and Canada have fines or jail terms for law breaches. Who keeps an eye on lobbyists? Federally it's the prime minister's department that loosely oversees lobbying. It takes on a largely administrative role, rather than an investigative or regulatory one. Its core job is to maintain the register and communicate the code's requirements to lobbyists. It lacks independence, relies on reports of bad lobbying and rarely, if ever, takes enforcement action.

“As an election looms, the need to legislate for an independent, well-resourced ‘federal Icac’ is clear, but we should be of no illusions on what is needed to underpin it: Australia needs to be much smarter about what laws such a body might enforce,” he said. “Without prohibitions on the revolving door, and greater limitations on gifts, the ability of such a body to safeguard Australia’s democracy will be critically undermined.”

The industry group representing lobbyists, the Australian Professional Government Relations Association, rejects the notion that the current lobbying code is weak and unenforced. But it does want to see it cover all those who approach government, to create a level playing field.

“While APGRA does not agree with the suggestion that the code of conduct is weak or unenforced, there are some areas where the code of conduct could be improved,” its president, Les Timar, said.