Ratepayers footed bill for lobbyist’s LNP campaign

A lobbyist firm owner was paid by Brisbane ratepayers to run the lord mayor’s re-election campaign from inside Adrian Schrinner’s office.

Malcolm Cole, part owner of lobbying firm SAS, celebrates the LNP’s win with Brisbane lord mayor Adrian Schrinner.

A senior Liberal National Party strategist was paid by ratepayers to advise Brisbane’s Lord Mayor, while orchestrating his re-election campaign.

Malcolm Cole – who is a co-owner of lobbyist firm SAS Consulting Group – is still on the Brisbane City Council payroll in Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner’s office, even as his firm lobbies the council on behalf of clients and LNP donors.

An investigation by The Australian has found Mr Cole – whose business partner is federal Nationals president Larry Anthony – was employed as a part-time “special adviser” to Mr Schrinner as the LNP council went into election mode ahead of the March local government poll.

Mr Cole’s SAS Group is now lobbying the council he helped get elected, despite Mr Cole insisting earlier this year that his firm would not do so while he worked there.

Mr Cole, a member of the LNP state executive until July, was granted high-level access to LNP partyroom strategy meetings and was effusively praised by LNP councillors after the party’s resounding win.

Deputy mayor Krista Adams told colleagues that “on behalf of the Brisbane City Council, Malcolm did an outstanding job for our election on our campaign as a co-opted member of our campaign as well as part of the LNP”.

“We couldn’t have done it without him,” Ms Adams said.

Mr Cole posted on Facebook after the win a picture of himself holding a glass aloft, with Mr Schrinner behind him.

“He said ‘No celebrating,’ and so he didn’t. But I did,” Mr Cole wrote. “It was a genuine privilege to grab a quiet moment with Brisbane’s elected lord mayor last night … one of the most decent people I’ve met in a career around politics.”

Councillor Ryan Murphy, chair of the public and active transport committee, posted on social media after the election: “You absolutely smashed this one out of the park Coley! Well done mate … Team Schrinner could not have won this without you.”

The lobbyist register reveals that since then, Mr Cole’s SAS Group has lobbied Ms Adams and the Brisbane City Council’s manager of development services on behalf of at least one of the firm’s commercial clients, also a donor to the LNP.

Records show SAS Group met Ms Adams on June 20, 2020, for client Neilsens Concrete Pty Ltd, for a “commercial in confidence” matter, and the development services manager on June 10.

According to its website, Neilsen Group includes Neilsens Quality Gravels and Neilsens Concrete, and supplies products to the Brisbane City Council and other local governments.

Neilsens Quality Gravels ­donated $19,000 in two instalments to the LNP in 2016 and 2017.

A spokeswoman for Mr Schrinner said Mr Cole was appointed as an adviser to the mayor in April last year and continued to work as an adviser. “Mr Cole is not a lobbyist and has never engaged with council on behalf of the SAS Group or any other business or organisation,” she said.

“The company mentioned has had two applications to operate batching plants in Brisbane. Council does not support changed operational hours of one plant. This position has not changed. Council continues to work with the company in relation to a second plant.”

Earlier this year, Mr Cole said during the time he had worked in the lord mayor’s office, “nobody from SAS lobbied Brisbane City Council on behalf of our clients”.

“I am quite comfortable I have taken every possible step to avoid any conflict to make sure we have no clients in this space,” he said.

Mr Cole declined to answer written questions this week, instead providing a general statement. “The SAS Group represents a wide range of national and international clients, providing communications and advisory services, including advocacy to various levels of government on both sides of politics,” he said.

“These activities are made public where required.

“Otherwise, our current and former client arrangements are confidential.”