Transport Minister’s staffer kept lobbyist in the loop

Secret text exchanges between a Labor-aligned lobbyist and Transport Minister Mark Bailey’s senior policy adviser are being kept under wraps amid claims they are party political.

Secret text exchanges between Labor-aligned lobbyist Evan Moorhead and Transport Minister Mark Bailey’s senior policy adviser are being kept under wraps amid claims they are party political.

The text messages were identified after a Right to Information request by The Sunday Mail for communications between Mr Moorhead’s lobbying firm Anacta and Mr Bailey’s office.

Mr Moorhead, who owns Anacta with fellow Labor-linked lobbyist David Nelson, has most recently been in the spotlight over concerns about a blurring of the lines when it was revealed he was being paid by Labor as a political adviser in the lead-up to the 2020 election while working as a lobbyist.

Government records show Anacta contacted state officials on dozens of occasions in the lead-up to the election, while Labor’s election pledges benefited Anacta clients, including train builder Downer EDI.

Transport Minister Mark Bailey. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

Mr Moorhead has rejected any wrongdoing, saying there was a clear separation between Anacta’s campaign work and its work for clients.

RTI decision makers initially agreed to release the text messages in question between Anacta and Mr Bailey’s office under RTI, but that was later overturned after an employee of Mr Bailey’s office objected.

The secrecy relates to two text messages in March and June last year between Mr Moorhead and senior policy adviser Brett Reed.

They were deemed out-of-reach of RTI on the basis the exchanges were party political.

It is the second time in as many months the Government has argued documents were party political and out of reach of RTI after blocking access to emails between Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Mr Bailey using their private email accounts.

The emails were controversial in that Ms Palaszczuk had told parliament in 2017 she had never used her private email account for official purposes. She has denied misleading parliament.

Emails and text exchanges that were released between Mr Moorhead and Mr Reed show a friendly relationship extending to regular calls and “courtesy” texts about looming political problems for the Palaszczuk Government and discussions about its clients.

At one point, Mr Bailey’s senior policy adviser Brett Reed texts Mr Moorhead to warn that the Maritime Union “is coming your way” over an industrial fight with its shipping client SeaSwift.

Lobbyist Evan Moorhead is a former Labor state secretary.

Mr Moorhead had also placed a “courtesy call” to Mr Reed months earlier to warn the Government that it could feature in potential media coverage on the SeaSwift dispute with the union.

The contact was not listed on the publicly available register of contact between lobbyists and government, but an Anacta spokesman said SeaSwift was not a lobbying client at the time of the “courtesy call,” rather it had been engaged to provide communication services.

It later began lobbying for Seaswift and had since disclosed eight instances of lobbying contact, he added.

Phone records released through RTI also show multiple text message exchanges and calls relating to Mr Bailey’s office involving the struggling taxi industry, with the Minister’s office asking Mr Moorhead for advice ahead of a teleconference with Black and White Cabs, which later became a lobbying client.

Mr Moorhead also messaged to warn the minister that the limo industry were “preparing to blow up” over the state’s planned rescue package.

An Anacta spokesman said the information was passed on “by way of courtesy” and the contact did not have to be declared because it did not relate to Black & White Cabs. All disclosures relating to lobbying for the taxi industry met its regulatory obligations, he said.

The Government announced $23 million support for the taxi industry last June, but a Black & White Cabs spokeswoman said Anacta was not involved in lobbying for the package. A spokesman for Mr Bailey said staff in his office “maintain contact with businesses, organisations, employees and their representatives across the transport and roads portfolio.” “That is an expectation and natural consequence of their roles,” he said.