Over recent years, we’ve witnessed a veritable conga-line of Australian politicians going into well-paid private sector jobs after politics – often in the very industries that they used to regulate. Notable examples include Andrew Robb, Ian MacFarlane and Stephen Conroy, but there are others.
Asher Moses has penned a ripper article at MichaelWest.com.au on the revolving door between government and industry, lobbyists, and under-the-radar political donations:
…a litany of organisations representing vested interests, which do not have the right to vote, possess significantly more sway over policy than ordinary citizens.
This is done via lobbyists, special interest groups, opaque political donations and the revolving door of political staffers between government and industry…
An army of lobbyists – 240 lobbying entities are registered with the Department of the Prime Minister & Cabinet, many employing multiple individuals – constantly swarm Canberra seeking to influence the decisions of public officials…
More than 200 individuals have moved between positions in the fossil fuel and/or mining industries and senior positions in government, or vice versa, over the past decade, according to University of Wollongong senior lecturer Adam Lucas, who has been keeping a list.
“Frankly, it’s a disgrace and we desperately need reform around these issues,” said Dr Lucas over email…
Ahead of a report expected this month from the The Grattan Institute, the ABC reports today that over $60 million last year was donated under the radar to the major political parties. Dr Edwards also found Australia’s federal parliament has “some of the most lax political donations laws in the developed world”. According to Dr Edwards, only about 13 per cent of Liberal and 21 per cent of Labor income for 2016-17 (the newest data available) was transparently attributed to political donors. Another 20-30 per cent of their income fell into a grey area, where shady accounting practices were often used to conceal donations…
One trick the major parties use is to hold dinners selling expensive tickets and then recording the payments as a payment for service in “other receipts”, rather than a donation…
Australia confronts some major policy issues, some of which may require changes that impact the profits of vested interests. The question is: can we ever hope to see action on these issues when policy is being driven by people who are only concerned by short-term profits?
A year ago, John Warhurst – an emeritus professor of political science at the Australian National University – called for a Royal Commission into political corruption.
Advertisement
There does appear to be a prima facie case for ‘warts-and-all’ inquiry into political corruption and insider politics in Australia.
Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness.
Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.
