Clive Palmer, the erratic millionaire miner and Liberal Party donor and activist, reckons that lobbyists should be banned from holding senior political party positions. This apparently led to a slanging match with Liberal Party Leader Tony Abbott before the recent Liberal Party federal council meeting because it threatened to upset the party apple cart given the role of at least two registered lobbyists, former MPs Alexander Downer and Santo Santoro, in such positions at the federal and state levels. Eventually Palmer's motion failed to pass.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
This may just be about internecine Liberal or Liberal National Party politics. Some of it almost certainly is about bad blood. But whatever Palmer's motivations he is probably right, at least in a narrow way, and his position raises interesting broader issues.
The narrow issue is whether so-called ''third-party lobbyists'', that is individuals offering their services on a commercial basis to lobby government, should hold senior positions in party organisations. Downer, foreign minister in the Howard government, now co-owns a South Australian lobbying firm, Bespoke Approach, with former Labor minister Nick Bolkus and high-profile lobbyist Ian Smith, as one of his many post-politics ventures.
The firm's website claims that ''All clients are guaranteed access to the experience of the three principals, their strategic insight and their unrivalled range of networks.'' This handy three-pronged description of what a lobbyist claims to do could be found in some form on the websites of many third-party lobbyists. Bespoke Approach goes on to say that it ''will not directly lobby in the corridors of Parliament''.
Presumably they are above that. Downer ''stands ready to offer his advice and assistance to organisations seeking to work internationally''.
Santoro, short-term minister for ageing in the Howard government until he resigned in disgrace, has been a power broker in the Queensland party for some time. His family business is called Santo Santoro Consulting. Palmer alleged that Santoro profited from the recent election of the Newman LNP Queensland government by immediately putting up his fees. The worth of other lobbyists with Liberal Party connections has risen with the election of Coalition state governments and would rise further if the Coalition wins the next federal election because their influence and access would grow.
The broader issues that Palmer raises relate to the consequences of political activists wearing multiple hats in politics. My general view is that multiple hats are dangerous and that they can lead to an introverted and even incestuous type of politics. Worse than that, they can lead to perceptions of a conflict of interest, and at times even actual conflicts of interest. Furthermore they can lead to actual corruption of the political process.
Palmer pointed to lobbyists and party office-bearers. However, the comments he made relate to some other categories too that he neglected to mention. These include former politicians and ministers, like Downer and Santoro and Alan Stockdale, the Liberal Party president who was once Victorian treasurer and now consults to a law firm that also lobbies. Another category is wealthy businessmen, like Palmer himself, who undoubtedly lobby governments in their own interests.
Former politicians and ministers commonly serve as party office-bearers. They bring the appropriate organisational skills, authority and party loyalty. They see it as a form of continuing service to their party, perhaps as a harmless form of gratitude. However they also probably see it as keeping them close to the action, mixing with old mates and giving them a status in the party that they would otherwise lose.
They play a political role too as Tony Staley did in brokering John Howard to replace Downer as party leader in 1995 and as Shane Stone did in shaking up the party leadership in the Howard-Costello days of 2001. Stone was former Northern Territory chief minister while Staley was a Fraser-era minister.
A former political leader doesn't have to hold party office, however, to be influential. Former West Australian Labor premier Brian Burke was a self-interested influence. He traded on his connections and reputation to raise funds and influence decisions.
You also don't have to be a registered third-party lobbyist to take advantage of party contacts. Many former ministers and MPs do so as employees of NGOs who don't have to be registered. So concentration on registered lobbyists alone is a misunderstanding.
Political party life is introverted and incestuous. The parties are relatively small and many individuals float in and out. Sometimes they hold membership; on other occasions they just exercise influence. If parties attracted a wider range of community figures who didn't want to end up in Parliament themselves they would be healthier and better-balanced community organisations. Instead there is a constant circulation of the same people. It is common for former MPs to hold organisational roles. For instance, the former South Australian federal MP and senator, Grant Chapman, is president of the South Australian Liberals.
Palmer correctly draws attention to the role of third-party lobbyists. It would be sensible, even if not mandatory, for parties to exclude such paid advocates from their senior party positions. Then lobbyists would be forced to choose between the two types of jobs. But he should address other examples of multiple hats and conflicts of interest in politics.
John Warhurst is an emeritus professor of political science at the Australian National University.
John.Warhurst@anu.edu.au
