Lobbyist numbers surge at the state level while secrecy surrounds one client
They’re paid to influence our politicians, and with billions in stimulus spending flowing through, the ranks of lobbyists are swelling.
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AS the pool of stimulus money swells, so does the number of companies registered as lobbyists in South Australia, with an increase of 25 per cent in under a year.
Last year The Advertiser revealed that there were then more registered lobbyists in SA than there are seats in state parliament - 80 lobbyists versus 69 seats.
The number of lobbyists has now swelled to 98. In 2017 it was just 65.
There has also been an oddity pop up on the list, with former Liberal MP Wayne Matthew’s company GR Solutions listing one client, which engaged his services last month, as “information temporarily redacted’’.
Mr Matthew said it was an unusual occurrence, but one which could arise where there were sensitivities with a company’s identity being known.
Without shedding any light on who the company could be, Mr Matthew said the need for confidentiality could come into play where ASX listing rules applied or where a company’s involvement in a tender might be sensitive, and there were guidelines under the Act for how to proceed.
Mr Matthew said he was a staunch advocate of transparency in the lobbying field, and the identity of his client would be revealed in due course.
In other activity on the state lobbyist register, former Labor Minister Leesa Chesser, formerly Leesa Vlahos, has snagged the first client for her firm Blue Sky Consulting Australia.
Ms Chesser will be advocating on behalf of Mawson Lakes company Airspeed, which is active in the defence, energy and aviation sectors and is a composite materials company.
Among the new entrants to the SA lobbying sector are DPG Advisory Solutions, which counts buy-now, pay-later firm Afterpay, mining firm Rio Tinto and Racing Australia among its clients.
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DPG is owned by David Gazard who is close to Prime Minister Scott Morrison and was an adviser to former treasurer Peter Costello and former prime minister Tony Abbott during his time as health minister in the Howard Government.
OPR Agency also signed up to lobby in SA in June with a client roster including Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca, 3M Australia and Spirits and Cocktails Australia. Watt Advocacy & Communications has also registered. Travancore Legal and Advisory was recently removed from the list of active lobbying firms.
Adelaide University emeritus professor Clem Macintyre said as the pool of money being spent by governments swelled, it was not surprising that the list of companies lobbying for a piece of the action grew.
He said while some, especially those companies acting at a national level might register out of an abundance of caution, there was certainly plenty to be gained at the moment from having the ear of government.
“There will be, clearly a massive stimulus spending to support the economy at the state and federal level, and it’s inevitable that people will be eyeing that off and trying to position themselves advantageously,’’ Mr Macintyre said.