New data released under updated access rules shows Labor and Coalition MPs sponsoring access for Australia’s largest fossil fuel company, the Minerals Council of Australia and the online gambling lobby group Responsible Wagering Australia. The first disclosure on Tuesday covered about 10 percent of existing passes, the Australian Democracy Network said; more than 1,000 applications were yet to be processed.
Woodside Energy, Australia's largest fossil fuel company, holds 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 has passes sponsored by McDonald, Coalition frontbenchers Angie Bell, Matt O'Sullivan and Ted O'Brien, and Labor's Dan Repacholi. American oil and gas firm ConocoPhillips is sponsored by Nationals MP Colin Boyce and Labor's Mike Freelander. Gas lobby group Australian Energy Producers has access sponsored by the member for Bean, David Smith. Shadow energy minister Dan Tehan sponsors Alinta Energy along with Repacholi.
The new rules require two MPs to sponsor a lobbyist to obtain a pass. A review of the policies governing access was conducted by House speaker Milton Dick and Senate president Sue Lines, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in March suggesting greater transparency and rigour of sponsored pass holders was needed. Until now, there has been no transparency about the more than 2,000 pass holders with access to the building.
Transparency campaigners at the Australian Democracy Network said the partial disclosure was inadequate. Spokesman Christian Slattery said: "Unfortunately today's partial disclosure only covers about 10% of total existing passes, meaning Australians still can't see the full picture." He added that the new system "doesn't give meaningful information to the public about who our elected representatives are meeting with, when they're meeting them, or why." Slattery called for new national laws to cover lobbying conduct and establish a regulator.
The data also shows shadow health minister Anne Ruston and Labor's Raff Ciccone are primary sponsors for two passes for Responsible Wagering Australia, a lobby group for betting companies bet365, Sportsbet and Betfair. The group's chief lobbyist, Kai Cantwell, is a former staffer to Ruston. The Pharmacy Guild has passes sponsored by Labor MPs Gordon Reid, Anne Urquhart, Repacholi and Josh Dolega.
Other notable sponsorships include energy minister Chris Bowen and industry minister Tim Ayres sponsoring prominent lobbyist Ben Oquist, a former Greens staffer and husband of Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young. Greens leader David Shoebridge sponsors the Australian Peace and Security Forum, a non-profit involved in an inquiry into the Aukus defence pact. ACT independent David Pocock sponsors passes for several organisations including the Australian Construction Industry Forum and the group Teach Us Consent Global.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- The revelations show that major resource and gambling companies have permanent, sponsored access to Australia's parliament, raising questions about industry influence on policy decisions.
- The new transparency system was intended to address concerns about unmonitored access, but campaigners say the partial disclosure fails to provide meaningful accountability.
- With a backlog of over 1,000 pass applications, the full extent of lobbyist access remains unknown, prompting calls for national lobbying laws and a regulator.
Background
Lobbying in Australia is currently subject to a register administered by the Attorney-General's Department, but the access pass system for Parliament House has been opaque. In response to growing concerns, the House speaker and Senate president conducted a review, and in March Prime Minister Anthony Albanese indicated that greater transparency and rigour was needed. The new rules, under which two MPs must sponsor each lobbyist pass, took effect with the first data release on Tuesday. However, the data covers only about 10 per cent of an estimated 2,000 passes, with more than 1,000 applications yet to be processed.
Key Perspectives
Transparency campaigners (Australian Democracy Network): say the partial disclosure covers only 10% of passes, provides no information about the purpose or frequency of meetings, and call for comprehensive national lobbying laws and an independent regulator.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese: suggested in March that greater transparency and rigour of sponsored pass holders was needed.
What to Watch
- The processing of the remaining 1,000-plus access pass applications and whether future disclosures will provide more detail on meeting times and purposes.
- Whether the government will respond to campaigners' calls for national lobbying laws and an independent regulator.
- Potential scrutiny of individual MPs who sponsor multiple lobbyists, especially those from resource and gambling sectors.
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 11 supported.
Show each claim
- SupportedData reveals MPs sponsor lobbyist access to Parliament House.World news | The Guardian: “Labor and Coalition MPs are facilitating permanent access to Parliament House for the country’s biggest resources companies and the lobby group representing online gambling giants, new data has revealed.”
- SupportedThe first release shows MPs sponsoring access for fossil fuel and gambling lobbyists.World news | The Guardian: “Labor and Coalition MPs are facilitating permanent access to Parliament House for the country’s biggest resources companies and the lobby group representing online gambling giants, new data has revealed.”
- SupportedAdvocates say the disclosure covers about 10% of existing passes.World news | The Guardian: ““Unfortunately today’s partial disclosure only covers about 10% of total existing passes, meaning Australians still can’t see the full picture,” spokesman Christian Slattery said.”
- SupportedThe first release was on Tuesday.World news | The Guardian: “Tuesday’s first release of data provided very limited detail, with a backlog of more than 1,000 applications yet to be processed.”
- Partly supportedChristian Slattery said the partial disclosure covered “about 10% of existing passes”.World news | The Guardian: ““Unfortunately today’s partial disclosure only covers about 10% of total existing passes, meaning Australians still can’t see the full picture,” spokesman Christian Slattery said.”
- SupportedSlattery said the new system “doesn't give meaningful information to the public about who our elected representatives are meeting with, when they're meeting them, or why.”World news | The Guardian: ““The new transparency system doesn’t give meaningful information to the public about who our elected representatives are meeting with, when they’re meeting them, or why.””
- SupportedMore than 1,000 applications were yet to be processed.World news | The Guardian: “Tuesday’s first release of data provided very limited detail, with a backlog of more than 1,000 applications yet to be processed.”
- SupportedWoodside Energy has three access cards sponsored by the named Labor and Coalition MPs.World news | The Guardian: “Woodside Energy, Australia’s largest fossil fuel company, has three access cards, sponsored by Labor politicians Meryl Swanson, Glenn Sterle and Tracey Roberts, as well as Coalition MPs Melissa Price, Rick Wilson and Susan McDonald.”
- SupportedThe Minerals Council of Australia has passes sponsored by McDonald, Angie Bell, Matt O’Sullivan, Ted O’Brien and Dan Repacholi.World news | The Guardian: “Lobby group the Minerals Council of Australia also has passes sponsored by McDonald, as well as Coalition frontbenchers Angie Bell, Matt O’Sullivan and Ted O’Brien, and Labor’s Dan Repacholi.”
- SupportedThe new rules require two MPs to sponsor a lobbyist to obtain a pass.World news | The Guardian: “Under the new rules, two MPs are required to sponsor lobbyists to register for a pass.”
- SupportedUntil now, there has been no transparency about more than 2,000 pass holders with access to the building.World news | The Guardian: “Until now, there has been no transparency about the more than 2,000 pass holders with access to the building, which has led to frustrations among MPs including ACT independent David Pocock.”
- SupportedAnne Ruston and Raff Ciccone are primary sponsors for two passes for Responsible Wagering Australia.World news | The Guardian: “The shadow health minister, Anne Ruston, and Labor’s Raff Ciccone are primary sponsor for two passes for lobby group Responsible Wagering Australia, which represents betting giants bet365, Sportsbet and Betfair.”