Declining trust in government is helping fuel One Nation’s rise, and the failure to properly regulate lobbying has left powerful insiders in gambling, defence and fossil fuels with too much influence over public policy.
Declining trust in government and parliament are important reasons for the rise of One Nation. Some of that lack of trust is caused by the Albanese government.
Before the November 2022 election the Prime Minister criticised the former Morrison government for its “government by deception, government in secret” He promised to “restore trust and accountability in politics”.
He hasn’t. According to the Centre for Public Integrity, the Albanese government is less transparent than its predecessor-FOI, ICAC, whistle blower protection, public appointments and more.
But failure to properly regulate lobbying is the standout failure. Lobbyists are the “insiders” who have inordinate and powerful influence on governments, particularly in gambling, defence and fossil fuels.
A major obstacle to reform is that for many members of parliament, their staff and senior officials, lobbying provides a very lucrative income when they leave parliament or the public service. It is estimated that more than 50 per cent of registered lobbyists in Canberra have previously worked in government, for the Coalition and Labor. They refuse to act on the lobbying scourge. It is an incestuous club.
Gambling
Many were appalled that the recommendations of a Parliamentary Committee on the scourge of gambling chaired by the late Peta Murphy was run into the sand by the Albanese Government. The gambling lobby won again. The victims and their families were ignored.
Transparency International Australia has revealed that since 2011 at least eight federal ministers, senior ministerial advisers, including those in relevant portfolios and one state premier have taken up or worked in roles as gambling lobbyists, peak body or major gaming operators. This includes three former ministers, a chief of staff and ministerial adviser taking up roles in Responsible Wagering Australia (RWA) and several with Crown Resorts.
Of the handful of industries included in the research, gambling organisations had the most lobby firms across Australia. Federally, the gambling industry hired 13 lobbying firms and had access to a huge number of individual lobbyists across the country. For example, RWA had access to over 100 lobbyists, Sportsbet over 70, Star Entertainment over 60 and Tabcorp over 50.
Defence
Lockheed Martin Corporation is the largest arms supplier in the world. It specialises in F-35 fighter jets, rocket systems, guided missiles space systems and more. Although no official figures are available the estimated value of major weapons systems and systems architecture supplied or contracted to Australia by Lockheed Martin in recent years exceeds an estimated $A25-30 billion.
There’s been a plethora of senior Australians – ministers, officials and ranking ADF officers working in various ways for Lockheed Martin (LMA) Australia.
Others have taken senior positions in Boeing, NIOA Group, Thales, Serco and Tenix/BAE.
But there is more. Christopher Pyne established a consultancy which was hired by Elbit Systems of Australia a major private military technology supplier to the ADF while Pyne was a Minister. In April this year Pyne hosted an AUKUS summit in Washington. Scott Morrison is a consultant to companies associated with AUKUS, a project which he initiated as Prime Minister. He acts as a strategic adviser to DYNE Maritime a AUKUS-focused venture capital and technology fund alongside former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
The revolving door never stops spinning.
Fossil fuels
The lobbying of governments around the world by the fossil fuel industry is a major reason for the climate emergency. There has been a consistent pattern of former Resources Ministers accepting positions in the fossil fuel sector. Some of the most notable have been Ian Macfarlane and Martin Ferguson. Gary Gray took a role with Mineral Resources Limited, a leading diversified resources company, with extensive operations in lithium, iron ore, energy and mining services across Western Australia. Former Labor Premier Mark McGowan was closely associated with mining giants BHP and Mineral Resources Limited after retiring. Former WA Treasurer Ben Wyatt serves on the boards of Rio Tinto and Woodside Energy. Joe Hockey runs Bondi Partners which has clients in mineral resources and defence.
There is no suggestion that any of the people mentioned above acted illegally or improperly.
Many special interests conduct their own lobbying. They are not registered as lobbyists. These lobbyists promote a whole range of interests (e.g. mining, clubs, hospitals, private health insurance funds, businesses and hotels) that have all successfully thwarted government policy and the public interest. These secret but powerful lobbyists are doing enormous damage to public trust. They recently twisted the government’s arm to counter a gas tax.
There are approximately 700 registered lobbyists operating in Canberra. Across the country there around 1,036 registered lobbyists actively working for 462 firms. Including in-house lobbyists, the total number of lobbyists across the country is closer to 2,400.
Over 2000 lobbyists, NGOs, business leaders and volunteers in Canberra have ‘orange passes’ that give them unescorted access to the private areas of Parliament House. It is clear significant additional scrutiny is required on granting such passes – especially those granted to big lobbyists.
A real Lobbyland!
Transparency International Australia in August 2025 released an analysis that showed that federal lobbying regulations lagged all states on key measures. Along with Tasmania, ACT and NT, the federal government has the worst lobbying regulations in the country. Queensland leads the way.
Key findings
The Commonwealth does not require ministers to publish diaries.
The Commonwealth does not require ministers to publish diaries.
Former federal ministers can start lobbying straight out of office.
Unlike most states the Commonwealth has no independent regulator for oversight and enforcement.
Some states back their lobbying rules with fines or other sanctions, but the Commonwealth’s only real penalty is removal from the register.
It proposed the following:
1. Introduce legislated codes of conduct for all officials and persons seeking to influence public decisions.
2. Implement a mandatory waiting period of at least three years before former ministers, senior public servants, and advisers can take up lobbying positions related to their previous government roles.
3. Expand the definition of lobbyist to include ‘in-house’ lobbyists.
4. Require federal ministerial diaries to be published to enable public scrutiny.
5. Enhance the Register of Lobbyists to include more comprehensive details.
6. Amend the Register of Lobbyists to provide details of who the lobbyist met.
7. Establish a well-resourced, independent body to administer, regulate and enforce post-separation employment standards and Codes of Conduct
8. Establish a robust sanctions regime for noncompliance with lobbying regulations.
Secret lobbying is pervasive and insidious. It must be made transparent and drastically curbed but without limiting the right to be heard by such important organisations as ACOSS, Red Cross and World Vision.
Powerful lobby groups not only promote their own interests but compromise those who should be supervising them – members of parliament.
John Menadue is the Founder of Pearls and Irritations and a board member. He was formerly the Editor-in-Chief. John was the Secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet under Gough Whitlam and Malcolm Fraser, Ambassador to Japan, Secretary of the Department of Immigration and CEO of Qantas.