Call to ban lobbyists from key roles in election campaigns

Lobbyists should be banned from holding senior roles in election campaigns to ‘return trust to the political process’, Australia’s peak lobbying body says.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk. Picture: Tara Croser.

Lobbyists should be banned from holding senior roles in election campaigns to “return trust to the political process”, Australia’s peak lobbying body says.

An investigation by The Australian uncovered the existence of campaigner-lobbyists in Queensland, political players who work to get governments elected and then profit from those governments as lobbyists or owners of lobbying firms.

In a submission to a review into integrity issues in Queensland, the nation’s lobbying body said it supported a ban on lobbyists working in senior management roles during an election campaign “due to the conflicts of interest and perceived conflicts that arise”.

“As part of our code of conduct, we strictly prohibit the mixing of political activities with their professional role,” the Australian Professional Government Relations Association wrote. “Given these are standards our members already support, we would be supportive of similar changes being introduced in Queensland to return trust to the political process.”

A spokesman for the APGRA said “senior management” was someone who was heavily involved in the day-to-day running of an election campaign, “rather than someone who does their job during the week and is handing out how-to-vote cards on the weekend. Our submission has recommended a clear differentiation be made in the Queensland code of conduct for lobbying, so … there can be clearer guidelines for the industry.”

Queensland’s lobbying code of conduct does not mention election campaigns but says lobbyists must “keep strictly separate from their duties and activities as lobbyists any personal activity or involvement on behalf of a political party”.

Labor outsourced the running of Annastacia Palaszczuk’s successful 2020 re-election campaign to two of the state’s top lobbyists – Cameron Milner and Evan Moorhead – even as the corruption watchdog warned of the blurring of lines between government and the lobbying industry.

The pair headed election strategy as they continued to lobby government on behalf of corporate clients, some of which were the subject of announcements by Ms Palaszczuk and her ministers before and during the campaign.

David Nelson, who co-founded Anacta Strategies with Mr Moorhead, held a senior backroom role on Anthony Albanese’s recent campaign as head of Labor’s advertising buys.

In 2020, senior LNP strategist Malcolm Cole was paid by Brisbane’s ratepayers to advise lord mayor Adrian Schrinner while orchestrating his re-election campaign.

Mr Cole, who is a co-owner of lobbyist firm SAS Consulting Group, was employed as a part-time “special adviser” to Mr Schrinner ahead of the March election.

Mr Cole has previously said “nobody from SAS lobbied Brisbane City Council on behalf of our clients” during the time that he was working in the lord mayor’s office.