‘More holes than Swiss cheese’: loophole in Queensland lobbyist ban

Labor and the LNP in Queensland are still paying lobbyist-linked companies for polling and research, despite a report telling the Palaszczuk government to ban ‘dual-hatting’ by campaigner-lobbyists.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has banned some campaigner-lobbyists from working in Queensland until after the next state election, but there are concerns loopholes remain. Picture David Clark

Labor and the Liberal National Party in Queensland are still paying lobbyist-linked companies for polling and research, despite a landmark integrity report telling the Palaszczuk government to ban “dual-hatting” by campaigner-lobbyists.

Electoral Commission of Queensland documents show state ALP paid Talbot Mills Research Australia $37,400 for the “federal election” and another $26,400 for “state” between July and December last year.

Talbot Mills is owned by Anacta Holdings – founded by former ALP state secretary and one-time lobbyist Evan Moorhead – which also owns lobbying firm Anacta Strategies.

In the same six-month period, the LNP paid Crosby Textor Research Strategies $27,885 as a “consultant,” when CT Research Strategies were registered lobbyists in the state. The entity only stopped being a registered lobbyist in Queensland this June.

An investigation by The Australian found then-lobbyist Mr Moorhead and lobbyist Cameron Milner ran Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s successful 2020 state election campaign, and then lobbied the re-elected government on behalf of their paying clients.

Evan Moorhead, who founded lobbying firm Anacta Strategies, is a former ALP state secretary and helped run Annastacia Palaszczuk’s 2020 election campaign. Picture: Annette Dew

Cameron Milner has been banned from lobbying the Palaszczuk government after helping to run Annastacia Palaszczuk’s successful 2020 re-election campaign. Picture: Tara Croser.

The revelation sparked a independent public service integrity review by academic Peter Coaldrake, commissioned by the Palaszczuk government, which recommended in June last year that “dual-hatting” be banned.

Professor Coaldrake urged “an explicit prohibition on the ‘dual hatting’ of professional lobbyists during election campaigns. They can either lobby or provide professional political advice, but cannot do both”.

“The public is naturally sceptical about whether this is a fair way to conduct business,” Professor Coaldrake’s report said. “Most people would be incredulous at the proposition that a lobbyist working with a political leader in one capacity cannot later exercise special influence.”

In the wake of the Coaldrake report, Ms Palaszczuk banned Mr Moorhead and Mr Milner from lobbying her government for the rest of the term.

Mr Milner shut his firm down and shifted states, and Mr Moorhead’s employees continued advocating for clients to government.

In a bill now before the parliament, a prohibition for “dual hatting” by lobbyists is introduced.

“Registered lobbyists will be prohibited from performing a substantial and senior role in a Queensland state election campaign, for a political party, during the ‘election period’,” an explanatory document reads.

But the “election period” extends only to the formal campaign between the issuing of the writs and the election date.

If a lobbyist does perform a “substantial and senior role” during the election period for a political party, they will be disqualified from lobbying for the next term of government.

Asked whether the Palaszczuk government had concerns that that situation was a breach of the spirit of the Coaldrake recommendations, a spokesman for the Premier said “no,” because the election campaign had not started.

“The bill … provides for this prohibition … during state election campaigns,” he said.

The next state election is in Oct­ober next year.

Queensland Greens MP Michael Berkman says Queensland’s lobbying laws have ‘more holes than Swiss cheese’. Picture: David Clark

Queensland Greens MP and crossbencher Michael Berkman said it proved there were loopholes in the proposed legislation.

“These so-called integrity laws have more holes than Swiss cheese and that’s just the way Labor and the LNP like it,” Mr Berkman said.

“Just like their so-called developer donations ban, all it takes to get around the ‘dual hatting’ ban is giving one arm of your business a new name. This is obviously another loophole that neither major party wants to close because they both run on dodgy lobbying and dirty donations.”

A spokeswoman for Anacta said Talbot Mills was based in New Zealand and did not do lobbying.