PwC scandal and wall-to-wall Labor governments sparks lobbyist boom
Business scramble to hire former ALP staffers and ministers following the disastrous handling of the PwC scandal and Labor’s mainland electoral dominance.
Major companies, institutions and lobby groups are scrambling to hire former ALP staffers and ministers with deep connections into the corridors of power, following the disastrous handling of the PwC scandal and Labor’s mainland electoral dominance.
The Australian can reveal the most sought-after lobbyists in Canberra are former long-time Labor staffers and politicians including Eamonn Fitzpatrick, Ryan Liddell, Stephen Conroy, Lidija Ivanovski, Michael Choueifate and Joel Fitzgibbon.
Some of the nation’s biggest businesses and prominent institutions are reviewing their in-house and external teams to sharpen their advice amid a sliding economy, major industrial relations, climate and social reforms and concerns over geo-strategic tensions.
In the wake of the PwC crisis, major firms are moving to strengthen their government relations and crisis communications strategies to ensure they have access to contemporary and linked-in backroom operatives who can open doors to ministers and departmental officials.
Big-four accounting firm PwC has been forced to hire external crisis communications and government relations advisers since the tax leak affair erupted. Now considered one of Australia’s worst corporate scandals, PwC has lost major government contracts and remains subject to police and parliamentary investigations and inquiries.
The return of Labor in NSW under Chris Minns has seen a shake-up of lobbyist influence and power in Macquarie St. Mr Fitzpatrick – a former senior press secretary to Julia Gillard, Kevin Rudd, Morris Iemma and Anna Bligh – is expanding operations in Sydney and Canberra, adding UNSW senior government relations adviser Tamara Lions to his team.
The political landscape shift in Canberra and Sydney has resulted in Liberal-aligned lobbyists struggling to access high-level government figures despite hiring ALP veterans.
A leading lobbyist told The Australian that while some of the Liberal-aligned lobbyist outfits had recruited Labor people, they faced “barriers” in trying to engage senior members of the Albanese government.
DPG Advisory Solutions founder David Gazard, a close friend of Scott Morrison who post-election hired former Bob Brown chief-of-staff and Australia Institute head Ben Oquist and former Kim Beazley, Simon Crean and Gareth Evans senior adviser Chris Fry, has a diminished presence on the ministerial wing’s blue carpets.
The Australian understands Hawker Britton – traditionally the premier lobbyist outfit under Labor governments – remains a major outfit but has not dramatically increased its volume of clients with limited operations in key states.
Senior Labor staffers are also joining industry groups, with Anthony Albanese’s veteran former press secretary Matthew Franklin joining the Australian Automobile Association as external affairs director.
The growth in lobbyists and government relations specialists has been welcomed by business insiders, with one senior figure telling The Australian that “some of these old GR, lobbying and comms firms have been around forever – PwC has been a wake-up call for everyone”.
Business leaders are casting the net wide for connected lobbyists and advisers who can provide real-time and critical advice ahead of and during crises.
As competition for lobbyists increases, the inaugural State of Government Relations report released by GovConnex and Freshwater Strategy on Thursday reveals that “the government relations industry is growing, with most expecting their team to expand over the next 12 months”.
A key finding of the survey, which collated responses from 221 government relations specialists, was that regulatory uncertainty and a clear view of government priorities were the “top concern of lobbying firms right now”.
“Government access and capacity constraints are the most common challenges facing employees in the sector. A majority of government relations professionals have found it easy to engage with the federal Labor government,” the report said.
About 59 per cent of lobbyists said they had found it easy to engage with the Albanese government, with 30 per cent reporting difficulties.
A quarter of lobbyists list issues with government access as the “biggest challenge they face in their role”.
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