Page 1959 - Week 07 - Tuesday, 5 August 2014
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I note that this motion comes to us having been through the proper preliminary stages, including discussions amongst the parties and consultation with the Clerk and the officers of the Legislative Assembly. They have provided input and advice on the content and implementation. We have also looked to other commentators and experts with experience in other jurisdictions to provide us with guidance. Burdett Loomis from the University of Kansas is the Flinders University Fulbright Distinguished Professor of American Politics. He wrote an opinion piece for the Sydney Morning Herald in support of a register that stated:
In the end, if the public, journalists and academics know who lobbies, who they target, and how much money they spend on what, lobbyists and government officials can be held more accountable. To an extent, US rules provide these data. If Australia adopted similar regulations, lobbyists’ actions would become far more transparent.
We have also considered the approaches adopted in other jurisdictions here and overseas. The United States has long had a register, but continued behind-the-scenes scandals show how vigilant we must be to match action with intent. The European Union is moving towards mandatory registration for member countries, signing up to what they intend as a “transparency register” by 2017, which has been reported as “one of a number of innovations intended to strengthen transparency and openness in European policymaking.”
Our own newly appointed Commissioner for Standards has urged action, stating in reports in February of this year that:
It seems to me that we are at a stage of perhaps almost unique cynicism in Australia towards the political process.
He went on to say, “It is vitally important that trust must be encouraged.” This register may go some way to encourage that trust. Most notably, we have also looked to the commonwealth parliament, with which many lobbyists would already be familiar, to be able comply with the registration requirements in that forum. That code, like the ACT code, recognises the important role that lobbying and communications play in a proper functioning representative government. But it also notes:
… promote trust in the integrity of government processes and ensure that contact between lobbyists and Government representatives is conducted in accordance with public expectations of transparency, integrity and honesty.
The code goes on to state:
... there is a public expectation that lobbying activities will be carried out ethically and transparently, and that Government representatives who are approached by lobbyists can establish whose interests they represent so that informed judgments can be made about the outcome they are seeking to achieve.
That is the final and proper goal of this proposal: that we, as representatives of the community, can establish who we are speaking to and what interests they represent.
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