Dr Monique Ryan Proposes National Lobbying Act to Clean Up Politics

The Parliament House corridors are crowded with unregistered lobbyists wielding considerable influence with little accountability. 

Spokesmen for the gambling, tobacco, fossil fuel, and mining industries have almost unfettered access to the political parties they support with millions in donations. The Albanese government has done almost nothing to improve transparency or accountability. Voters deserve better - so Dr Monique Ryan, Independent Federal Member for Kooyong, will reintroduce her private member's bill to Clean Up Politics next month. 

The Australian Democracy Network’s recent report The Invisible Hand highlighted the fact that more than half of all ASX100 companies and nearly three-quarters of ASX300 companies, representing more than $1.6 trillion in market capitalisation, are unlisted on the federal Lobbyist Register at all. That includes some of the country's largest and most politically active companies, including major banks, gas and coal producers, gambling companies and airlines. They employ hundreds of lobbyists, but our weak lobbying code doesn't require them to be on the public record.  

The report also documents an extensive "revolving door" between government and the lobbying industry. Of the 714 lobbyists actually listed on the federal register, almost two-thirds are former government representatives, yet nearly a quarter of those with government experience are not required to disclose it, because the code's definition of "government representative" is too narrow to capture former politicians, political staffers and party officials. 

Dr Ryan’s Clean Up Politics Bill would:  

• Create a lobbyist register with genuine regulatory power, capturing in-house corporate lobbyists and industry associations. 

• Put a stop to the revolving door of ministers and senior public officials moving straight from government employment into the private sector to lobby parliamentarians, while armed with insider knowledge and contacts gained while on the public purse.  

• Open ministerial diaries to the public, enabling scrutiny of who gains access to who – and when, where, and why.  

• Ban political donations from harmful industries like gambling and tobacco.