Lobbying swept under mat but we see the lumps

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Sarah Marshall

Annastacia Palaszczuk and the cabinet couldn’t bring themselves to clean up lobbying because it would say too much about the integrity issues in her government and Queensland Labor.

On Monday, the Premier announced changes to the state’s lobbying rules ahead of the expected critical report by Peter Coaldrake into how her government operates.

Coaldrake’s interim report – released in April – and a subsequent discussion paper by the Crime and Corruption Commission warned of the influence of Labor lobbyists in Queensland. “Unfortunately, there is declining confidence that governments across the board are making the best decisions rather than decisions influenced by those with the most effective voice,’’ Coaldrake said.

“In Queensland recently, this has been accentuated by the dual roles of some lobbyists – acting for clients to influence government, then acting for political parties to help them win elections.”

Coaldrake and the CCC were prompted by The Australian’s investigations, which revealed two lobbyists – Evan Moorhead and Cameron Milner – ran Palaszczuk’s October 2020 re-election campaign, literally from her office. Since then, Moorhead, Milner and another Labor firm, Hawker Britton, together secured 70 per cent of registered meetings with ministerial offices and a long list of government wins for their clients.

The Australian also revealed the Liberal National Party state executive included lobbying firm owners who also oversaw preselections and campaigns.

Palaszczuk’s cosmetic changes didn’t take aim at her mates, who kept Labor in power and have been cashing in ever since.

In the dark days of the Bjelke-Petersen government, it was the “cronies” who used National Party connections and money to get what they wanted. It may be again left to the media and integrity agencies to stop the rot.