This article is more than 11 months old

This article is more than 11 months old

The identities of corporate lobbyist clients are being masked by technical errors and extensive delays with the government’s new lobbyist register.

The federal lobbyist register is the only way the public can identify who is using paid, third-party lobbyists to attempt to influence government.

But the system – already criticised for its lack of transparency – has experienced what the government describes as “technical issues” in recent months.

Christopher Pyne's firm lobbies for company that won $2.7m in defence contracts Read more

The technical errors have prevented updated client information – submitted by lobbyist firms as part of a mid-year update – from appearing on the register. The technical problems have created a backlog of work for the government, which has slowed down its processing of new client information.

In one case, a new client of Christopher Pyne’s lobbyist firm, defence contractor Saber Astronautics, was not shown to the public until Friday, despite being added by Pyne’s firm more than a month ago.

Another defence contractor, the duMonde Group, continued to appear as a client of Pyne’s firm until Monday, despite the arrangement ending in July.

The clients for Pyne’s firm were updated following questions from Guardian Australia.

Responsibility for the lobbying register was recently transferred to the attorney general’s department. A spokeswoman said the department had set up a dedicated team to fix the problems with the system.

“The Attorney-General’s Department identified a number of technical issues following deployment of a new system to manage the Australian government register of lobbyists. These issues delayed the publication of changes made by users as part of the compulsory mid-year update period,” the spokeswoman said.

“The department is working to resolve these issues, including establishing a dedicated technical team, and providing support to users who encountered problems with the system. The majority of registrations have now been updated on the lobbyist register.”

Last week, Guardian Australia revealed Pyne’s lobbyist firm, GC Advisory, was engaged by the space company Saber Astronautics, a firm that won roughly $2.7m in defence contracts in the year prior.

Christopher Pyne's firm lobbies for company that won $2.7m in defence contracts Read more

When the department was queried on Saber’s absence on the lobbyist register, it said it was in “correspondence” with GC Advisory to ensure the arrangement complied with rules governing lobbying by former ministers.

“On 3 September 2019 the department received a request to add Saber Astronautics Australia as a client for GC Advisory,” a spokeswoman said. “The department is in correspondence with GC Advisory about this request to ensure it meets the requirements of the lobbying code of conduct with respect to former ministers.”

Such queries are standard practice. But they are typically dealt with in a matter of days or a week, rather than a month. The department explained that it was delayed in processing the new client because of a backlog from its mid-year update.

The lobbying code of conduct bars former government ministers from conducting “lobbying activities relating to any matter that they had official dealings with in their last 18 months in office”.

Pyne was the defence minister until 11 April.

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.

Saber has won multiple contracts with the defence department in the past 12 months, including a $2.1m project to provide “intelligent data fusion services”, awarded in July.

It was also earlier awarded $1.2m from the government’s defence innovation hub investment program to continue developing “machine learning technology for autonomous identification and modelling of electronic threats”.

Pyne issued a media release as defence minister announcing the $1.2m for Saber in July 2018, less than 18 months ago.

There is no suggestion the funding was awarded improperly. Saber has won contracts through open and competitive tender.

GC Advisory said Pyne did not lobby for any defence clients and complied with all rules.

“Mr Pyne is well aware of the code of conduct for previous ministers and he abides by it. Mr Pyne does not lobby for any defence clients,” a spokesman said.

“GC Advisory adheres to the lobbying code of conduct in every respect.”

The department has now approved Saber as a client of GC Advisory.

The lobbying code of conduct is weak and rarely enforced, experts say.

Even when it is enforced, the most severe punishment available is the removal of a lobbyist from the register. Critics say this simply pushes lobbying underground and out of sight of the public.

Revolving door between politics and lobbying undermines good policy – report Read more

The rules are not enforced by an independent agency. They are instead administered by a small number of public servants.

In nations like Canada, cooling-off periods are enforced by independent lobbying commissioners and breaches can result in fines, damages, termination or reduction in a government pension. In the United States, breaching the cooling-off period can result in imprisonment.

Pyne has recently faced a Senate inquiry into whether his new job with consulting giant EY breached the ministerial standards. The standards prevent former ministers from lobbying or holding business meetings with members of the government, parliament, public service or defence force on any matter for which they held ministerial responsibility for 18 months after leaving parliament.

They also require ministers not to use information they have obtained in office for private gain.

Pyne was cleared of any breach of the ministerial standards in an investigation by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.