Push to ban former ministers from lobbying

Nearly a dozen former federal ministers are registered lobbyists or providing ‘strategic advice’ to companies as demands grow for a three-year ban.

Julie Bishop has lobbied the Morrison government on behalf of collapsed financial services firm Greensill Capital

Nearly a dozen former federal ministers from the most recent Coalition and Labor governments are either registered lobbyists or providing “strategic advice” to companies, with ­demands growing for ex-politicians to be banned from such ­activity for up to five years.

Former foreign minister Julie Bishop, ex-defence minister Christopher Pyne, Liberal trade minister Andrew Robb, and ex-Labor ministers Lindsay Tanner and Craig Emerson are among eight former senior government figures currently on the federal lobbyist register.

More former ministers, including former Liberal treasurer Joe Hockey and Labor communications minister Stephen Conroy, have either joined groups that provide advice to companies on engaging with governments – but do not technically lobby – or have at one point worked for ­interest groups representing dozens of enterprises.

Senior legal figures say ex-ministers should be banned from advocating for companies for at least three years, and that the ­current system is “unfair”.

Former Law Council of Australia president Arthur Moses – who has regularly appeared as a lawyer in high-profile corruption and trade cases – said a three-year ban would bring politicians in line with restrictions on senior business executives.

 

“The private sector regularly imposes restraints on senior ­executives from working for a competitor for a period of time to protect against the potential misuse of confidential information,” he said. “It seems rather odd and wrong that cabinet ministers are not subject to the same restraints when they have had access to confidential and secret matters in order to discharge their high office in the name of the people.”

Former Victorian Court of ­Appeal judge Stephen Charles QC said there was a “problem” with how quickly ministers were allowed to step into lobbying roles.

“It seems to me the problem is obvious and unfair with the number of ministers who go straight into private enterprise … there should be a ban of at least three years,” he said.

“At the same time, you cannot ban people from these positions for life. Whether it should be three years or five years is up for debate.”

Mr Moses’s comments were given before it was revealed he was now in a relationship with NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, whom he represented at ICAC when she gave evidence over the lobbying of her ex-partner and former state Liberal MP Daryl Maguire.

Ex-NSW Supreme Court judge Anthony Whealy, who is also chairman of the Centre for Public Integrity, said there should be a five-year ban and it should include former MPs who are not directly lobbying but providing advice to companies. “Even a three-year ban could be illusionary because politicians can pretend they are not involved in lobbying … of course they are hired by these companies for the value of their influence,” he said.

“We do have to be careful of this revolving door in Australia. There needs to be very firm guidelines on what lobbying involves … a five-year ban would give enough length.”

The Australian is not suggesting any former minister has acted outside the Lobbyist Code of Conduct or any other laws.

Craig Emerson. Picture: ABC

Christopher Pyne

The issues of ministers-turned-lobbyists has returned to the spotlight with revelations Ms Bishop lobbied the Morrison government on behalf of collapsed financial services firm Greensill Capital. She also has cosmetics giant L’Oreal as a client on her lobbyists’ register.

Greensill has sparked a major controversy in British politics over revelations that former UK prime minister David Cameron heavily lobbied for the firm, and there are now calls in Britains for five-year bans on ministers lobbying.

Ms Bishop has not responded to previous requests for comment from The Australian on the topic of Greensill.

The former Liberal deputy – who ran for the leadership after the fall of Malcolm Turnbull, and came third in the race – is one of three top Liberal ministers to officially register as lobbyists in Australia.

Mr Pyne’s new lobbying firm, Pyne and Partners, represents a diverse range of companies, from Israeli defence management systems Elbit and DroneShield, to the Business Council of Australia and Racing South Australia.

Mr Robb – the trade minister under Tony Abbott and a former director of the Liberal Party – registered his most recent lobbyist group last November, representing groups such as Australian Wool Innovation. The ex-trade minister in 2019 stopped advising China-linked law firm Landbridge.

Lindsay Tanner

Other Coalition politicians registered on the lobbyists list include former parliamentary secretary Bob Baldwin. From Labor, Mr Tanner and Mr Emerson – who were finance minister and trade minister respectively – are the most senior figures from the Rudd-Gillard years on the lobbyists register. Junior ministers Bernie Ripoll and Alan Griffin are also registered as lobbyists.

Off the lobbyist register, Mr Hockey – who was also the Australian ambassador to the United States from 2015 to 2020 – has set up a corporate strategic advice firm, Bondi Partners, which operates in Australia and America. The former ambassador has previously said the firm does not lobby the government.

Former Liberal trade minister Steven Ciobo reportedly advised global financial firm Bain Capital on its successful takeover of airline Virgin Australia – before he moved to New York investment firm Stonepeak – and ex-assistant minister Jane Prentice has done work for strategic advice firm Counsel House.

Former resources minister Ian Macfarlane is also not on the lobbyists register but he does lead the Queensland Resources Council, which represents the mining industry’s interests to multiple levels of government.

Many politicians from both sides of parliament have moved to interest groups – which lobby governments for broad sectors, rather than separate companies – since leaving Canberra.

Ex-small business minister Bruce Billson was criticised for taking a job with the Franchise Council of Australia in 2016 after he had left cabinet, but not the parliament. Mr Billson has recently been made Small Business ­Ombudsman.

Mr Conroy, who was Julia Gillard’s Senate leader and a long-time Labor frontbencher, ran Responsible Wagering Australia – representing gambling groups – up until September last year.