FEDERAL ministers will be barred from investing in the sharemarket and face a one-year cooling-off period before working for the corporate sector after they quit Parliament under a tough code of conduct announced by the Prime Minister yesterday.

Kevin Rudd also pledged a ban on political fund-raising events at his official residences, The Lodge in Canberra and Kirribilli House in Sydney, and detailed new rules to introduce greater transparency into dealings between ministers and lobbyists.

The rules, stricter than the decade-old code of conduct of the Howard government, will increase pressure on the Premier, Morris Iemma, to toughen his rules governing the activities of former state ministers after a string of controversies. The former premier Bob Carr, as well as the retired ministers Carl Scully, Craig Knowles, Michael Egan and Richard Face have all attracted criticism for their post-parliamentary employment.