Labor lobbyists banned but Queensland firm thrives

The lobbying firm of blacklisted Labor lobbyists Evan Moorhead and David Nelson continues to thrive despite the pair being banned from personally lobbying the Queensland government.

Banned lobbyist Evan Moorhead. Picture: Annette Dew

The lobbying firm of blacklisted Labor lobbyists Evan Moorhead and David Nelson continues to thrive despite the pair being banned from personally lobbying the Queensland government, after it was revealed they secretly ran Annastacia Palaszczuk’s successful 2020 re-election campaign.

Public records show Anacta Strategies still has 22 clients, nearly two years after former ALP state secretary and Ms Palaszczuk’s former head of government strategy Mr Moorhead, and Mr Nelson, were blacklisted after a critical integrity review in July 2022.

The Australian revealed in the wake of Ms Palaszczuk’s 2020 election victory that the ALP had outsourced the running of her campaign to Mr Moorhead and rival Labor lobbyist Cameron Milner. Integrity reviewer Peter Coaldrake later condemned the practice of “dual-hatting” and recommended a ban on election campaigners acting as lobbyists.

Though Mr Moorhead and Mr Nelson are no longer able to personally lobby in Queensland, ­Anacta still boasts big-name ­clients, including multinational mining giant Glencore, Labor lawyers Maurice Blackburn, Black & White Cabs, the Pharmacy Guild of Australia’s Queensland branch, and healthcare providers Aspen Medical.

Of their current crop of clients, about half have been added to their roster since the directors were blacklisted.

Anacta now has three registered lobbyists in Queensland,­ ­including Jacqui Woods, who was NSW political co-ordinator for the United Workers Union until last year. Anacta recently parted ways with gambling company Tabcorp in Queensland, but is still its registered lobbyist in Canberra, where the firm has 32 clients and has rapidly expanded since registering there in May 2022.

Cameron Milner. Picture: Tara Croser.

After Mr Milner – also a former ALP state secretary – was banned, he shut down his firm, Next Level Strategic Services. Bill Shorten’s former chief of staff has since established a new company, GXO Strategies based in Brisbane, and Mr Milner is registered as a lobbyist in Canberra, where the firm has 16 clients.

His business partner is former Queensland Liberal National Party minister Scott Emerson, who is still registered as a lobbyist in Queensland under his Emerson Communications banner. Contact logs say Mr Emerson has not declared any lobbying activity in Queensland since last April, when he met Brisbane LNP councillor Vicki Howard on behalf of city entertainment precinct Howard Smith Wharves.

The ban on the three blacklisted lobbyists – Mr Moorhead, Mr Nelson and Mr Milner – lasts until October’s state election.

While the trio of lobbyists ­denied its role in the campaign gave its clients special access, Mr Coaldrake’s public sector accountability report found a ban was necessary to ensure public confidence in the system.

“The appearance of guiding a political party to office one week and then advocating a client’s case for a government or council decision a few weeks later naturally raises suspicion which cannot be remedied by promises to impose ‘Chinese walls’,” he wrote.

“ … Most people would be incredulous at the proposition that a lobbyist working with a political leader in one capacity cannot later exercise special influence.”

Several new lobbying firms have been registered in Queensland, including former Tasmanian Liberal premier Will Hodgman’s Hodgman Partners, which is representing lithium-ion battery recycling company Green Li-ion and technology company Trovio.