Only two people have signed up to the new Canberra lobbyists register, indicating a spectacular lack of interest in lobbying ACT public servants, politicians and political staffers, or enough loopholes in the system that most people accessing the corridors of power don't meet the definition of a lobbyist.
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The Commonwealth register has more than 400 active lobbyists.
Canberra's lobbyist register took effect on January 1 and requires anyone lobbying public servants, staffers and politicians to record their names and details on a public list.
So far, just two people have signed up - well-known consultant, lobbyist and Labor Party member Peter Conway, and former public servant and also Labor Party member Stephen Kendal.
Mr Conway said he was amazed at the negligible numbers, which suggested the register might have been an over-reaction to NSW corruption. Another factor was that most people who lobbied the ACT Government - including professional associations, community groups and lawyers - did not have to be registered as lobbyists under the scheme.
"I just think it was well intentioned, but a bit over the top," he said.
But Dr Kendal said Canberra had done the right thing in establishing a register, which also helped people trying to find lobbyists.
"It's small biccies financially compared with the federal government or any of the major state governments but that doesn't mean there isn't due process and there isn't important areas of government procurement that ought to be safeguarded," he said.
Dr Kendal has listed Indian brothers Harikumar and Arun Pallathadka as people he represents. Dr Kendal said the pair, who want to set up a free university for indigenous Australians, had been looking to South Australia but were also looking for land options in Canberra and a farm site nearby. Chief Minister Andrew Barr's office confirmed he is to meet ACT officials in the coming weeks.
Mr Conway has listed John Gerakiteys, who owns the coffee cart at the Carillon and wants permission for a permanent cafe on the other side of the lake at Bowen Park, as a person on whose behalf he might lobby. He has also listed Australian Agricultural Resources, and said he was about to add Ambulance Services Australia to the list.
In October, Mr Conway pointed to a loophole in the register that allows lobbyists to become non-voting directors of the company they're speaking for, in which case they don't need to register.
Companies can lobby on behalf of themselves without being registered as lobbyists, because the scheme defines a lobbyist as someone who lobbies on behalf of a third party.
Lobbying is defined as any communication with a public official to influence decisions. It doesn't apply to people making submissions to an Assembly committee, raising issues with their local assembly member, taking part in a grassroots campaign or public forum, and does not apply to people protected by whistleblower laws. Nor does it apply to churches, charities, non-profit groups such as trade unions and industry associations, and people who are representing the personal affairs of a friend of relative.
Mr Conway is writing to Chief Minister Andrew Barr to say the scheme should be administered by the bureaucracy, not by Assembly Clerk Tom Duncan, in line with the Commonwealth model.
The scheme has no penalties for improper lobbying. In the case of a complaint, Mr Duncan's role is limited to contacting an unregistered lobbyist to make them aware. If there is a complaint about improper lobbying, Mr Duncan refers the case to the chief minister, speaker, politician and/or head of the public service, depending on whether the complaint relates to a staffer, public servant or politician. Complaints are not made public.
