This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

The government and opposition have combined to vote down a motion calling for stronger lobbying laws.

The Greens moved a Senate motion late on Tuesday afternoon calling for a five-year ban on lobbying by former ministers. The motion also called for “meaningful penalties” for former ministers who breach the ministerial code of conduct.

Labor and the crossbench senator Derryn Hinch said they supported the principles behind the motion but could not support the wording.

Coalition defends lobbying rules and denies 'corporate takeover' of democracy Read more

“Like the ALP, the opposition, I do support the general feelings in this motion,” Hinch said. “But I think five years is excessive, if they come back with three years, something like that, I could support it.”

The motion, moved by the Greens senator Larissa Waters, cited Guardian Australia’s reporting on the fundamental failings of the lobbyist regime, which is weak, covers only a narrow section of lobbyists, lacks any independent oversight, and is barely enforced.

The current rules – set out in the lobbying code of conduct – prohibit ministers from lobbying on anything they had official dealings with for 18 months after leaving parliament. The rules are designed to prevent them using inside knowledge or obtaining an unfair advantage for their clients.

Senior public servants, ministerial staffers, and defence personnel face a 12-month cooling-off period. The bans, already weak by international standards, are rarely enforced, easily avoided, and attract little serious punishment.

Labor senator Anthony Chisholm said the opposition supported the general principles behind Waters’ motion. But he said without proper enforcement, there was little point in extending time limits.

“Labor believes that unless ministerial standards are effectively enforced, adjusting the time limits on post-ministerial employment will have no effect,” he said.

Waters had earlier expressed little hope for her motion, saying the current lax lobbying regime suited both major parties.

“The whole reason for us being concerned about this revolving door of lobbyists and politicians in this place is the wholesale takeover of big business of our democracy,” she said. “We have a litany of examples of it. We have the donations that are flowing, regularly and generously to both sides of politics from all sorts of industries with vested interests.”

Earlier this week, Guardian Australia revealed more than half of all federally-registered lobbyists worked within government at some point. One in four worked in the offices of politicians.

There is no suggestion that the majority of lobbyists, who serve an important democratic function, are doing anything other than complying with the rules.

But academics say the flawed oversight regime is effectively leaving the sector to police itself, and that the lack of enforcement is leaving little incentive for lobbyists to comply with the rules.

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.

Other lobbyists – including those who work directly for big business, rather than as consultants – are simply exempted from the rules and transparency measures.

That leaves them to effectively work in secret, and keep their clients’ names out of the media without repercussion.

This reporting is supported by the Susan McKinnon Foundation through the Guardian Civic Journalism Trust



