Labor and Coalition MPs are sponsoring access to private areas of Australia’s Parliament House for major resources companies and lobby groups, including a body representing online betting companies, according to newly released data. The disclosure is the first under updated rules requiring MPs to be named when they sponsor passes for lobbyists and other private interests.
The initial release on Tuesday offered limited information, with more than 1,000 applications still awaiting processing. Woodside Energy has three access cards, sponsored by Labor MPs Meryl Swanson, Glenn Sterle and Tracey Roberts, and Coalition MPs Melissa Price, Rick Wilson and Susan McDonald.
The Minerals Council of Australia’s passes are sponsored by McDonald, Coalition frontbenchers Angie Bell, Matt O’Sullivan and Ted O’Brien, and Labor MP Dan Repacholi. ConocoPhillips has access sponsored by Nationals MP Colin Boyce and Labor MP Mike Freelander, while Australian Energy Producers is sponsored by Labor’s David Smith. Shadow energy minister Dan Tehan and Repacholi sponsor access for Alinta Energy.
Responsible Wagering Australia, which represents bet365, Sportsbet and Betfair, has two passes sponsored by shadow health minister Anne Ruston and Labor MP Raff Ciccone. The group’s chief lobbyist, Kai Cantwell, previously worked for Ruston when she was a minister in the Morrison government and gave evidence to an inquiry into Labor legislation on gambling advertising earlier this year.
The new rules require two MPs to sponsor a lobbyist’s pass. Previously, there was no public transparency about more than 2,000 people with access to the building, a situation that had frustrated some MPs, including ACT independent David Pocock. The access policies were reviewed by House Speaker Milton Dick and Senate President Sue Lines. In March, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called for greater “transparency and rigour” around sponsored pass holders.
Other disclosed sponsors include Energy Minister Chris Bowen and Industry Minister Tim Ayres, who sponsor lobbyist Ben Oquist, a former Greens staffer and the husband of Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young. Greens leader David Shoebridge sponsors a pass for the Australian Peace and Security Forum, while Pocock sponsors passes for four organisations, including Queensland University of Technology and Teach Us Consent Global.
The Pharmacy Guild has two sponsored passes, with Labor MPs Gordon Reid, Anne Urquhart, Repacholi and Josh Dolega named as sponsors. The Australian Democracy Network said as many as 80% of registered lobbyists were still absent from the register. Its spokesperson, Christian Slattery, said the partial disclosure covered about 10% of existing passes and did not show the public whom elected representatives meet, when they meet or why. The organisation called for national laws on lobbying and the creation of a regulator.
Sources: The Guardian World.