Election 2025: Secretive ALP lobbyist Mark Reed latest in a long line

Anthony Albanese’s secretive use of lobbyists for his re-election has now extended to the battleground state of WA, where the local head of one of Canberra’s busiest lobbying firms is working on the Labor campaign.

Anacta Strategies director Mark Reed.

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Anthony Albanese’s secretive use of lobbyists for his re-election has now extended to the battleground state of Western Australia, where the local head of one of Canberra’s busiest lobbying firms is working on the Labor campaign.

Mark Reed, a director of Labor-linked lobbying firm ­Anacta Strategies, has been ­embedded in the ALP’s WA ­campaign to ­defend crucial seats in the state that were won by Labor at the 2022 federal election.

The Perth-based former ­political staffer, who disappeared from the federal register of lobbyists on Tuesday after being contacted by The Australian, is the second senior Anacta figure to be found to be working on Labor’s re-election campaign.

Mr Reed’s involvement in the campaign contradicts a statement by the ALP on Monday, which said: “There are no lobbyists working on our campaign.”

The statement was made in ­response to questions about David Nelson, one of the co-­owners of Anacta, who has been playing a senior role in the ALP national campaign headquarters in Sydney. He is no longer a registered ­lobbyist.

Mr Nelson was banned from lobbying in Queensland in 2022, along with Anacta’s co-founder Evan Moorhead, after it was revealed by The Australian that the pair had run Annastacia Palaszczuk’s successful 2020 election campaign while lobbying.

A subsequent inquiry by public administration expert Peter ­Coaldrake, who recommended the bans, coined the practice “dual hatting” and warned their role in the state Labor campaign raised suspicions the lobbyists’ clients received special access to the re-elected government.

On Tuesday, Mr Reed refused to answer questions about whether he was working on the WA Labor campaign while heading Anacta’s office in Perth and still on the federal register of lobbyists.

But a source told The Australian that Mr Reed “is working on the campaign”.

Labor’s WA campaign office also failed to respond to questions about his role.

Mr Reed removed himself from the WA register of lobbyists in January but was on the federal register on Tuesday morning.

Several hours after being ­contacted by The Australian, Mr Reed was removed from the federal register of lobbyists where he had been listed as a ­lobbyist and Anacta director.

Mr Reed was a longtime political staffer of former Labor premier Mark McGowan and is rumoured to be the frontrunner to become the next ALP state secretary in WA.

On Monday, ALP national campaign headquarters refused to answer specific questions about Mr Nelson’s role in the campaign and instead issued a statement.

“The ALP has engaged a number of firms to provide research, creative and communications services on this campaign,’’ the statement read, adding: “There are no lobbyists working on our campaign.”

Labor sources said Mr Nelson had been playing a senior role in the national Labor campaign, advising on advertising buys and messaging using focus group research conducted by a pollster owned by his lobbying firm’s parent company, Anacta Holdings.

“He is helping to massage the message of Albo using the research, seeing what works and what doesn’t,’’ one source said.

The Anacta-owned pollster is also providing focus group research for Labor’s campaign in WA.

Anacta set up its Canberra lobbying operation just two days after Mr Albanese was elected prime minister in May 2022.

After his 2022 election win, The Australian contacted Mr Albanese’s office asking whether he would follow Queensland’s lead and ban lobbyists involved in political election campaigns.

His office did not respond.