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PRIA submission to ICAC lobbying investigation

Thu, 22 Jul 2010

PRIA has lodged a submission to the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) investigation into the lobbying of public officials and public authorities in NSW and the related procedures and regulatory system. PRIA will also be giving evidence at the ICAC hearing in the coming weeks.

The main conclusions are as follows:

• 'Lobbyists’ perform a legal, legitimate and important role in our democracy; they are engaged in public advocacy on behalf of their clients. More properly referred to as government relations or public affairs practitioners, they ensure that a wide range of stakeholders have a say in policymaking.
  
• the key issues in any review of lobbying relate to transparency and openness of government decision making, stakeholder engagement, freedom of expression and the democratic right for every citizen to have a voice. The PRIA is strongly committed to both the transparency of representation and transparency of process in relation to public advocacy.
  
• the broad range of daily public advocacy activities within New South Wales do not appear to have triggered this ICAC review. There is no evidence presented in the ICAC supporting material that this everyday activity is conducted corruptly, or in an environment conducive to corruption. Therefore, the PRIA urges the Commission to ensure that any recommendations for changes to regulation or process do not unfairly diminish access to government and the process of decision making and such changes recognise the broad perspectives in which lobbying occurs within the State.
  
• Without a government representative making a decision to violate his or her employment agreement and/or code of conduct, there is no risk of corruption. Thus, programs within the public service and codes for parliamentary representatives are the crucial pillar to minimise malfeasance. Tools such as the lobbyist register help ensure all parties are aware of representation identity. However, addressing the culture, process and practices of government representatives and employees is a far more effective barrier to limiting any potential for corruptive practices.
  
• PRIA members who work as NSW government relations practitioners do so in a transparent, accountable and fair manner. They abide by the PRIA Code of Ethics and act professionally in accordance with that code. If further disclosure and reporting is required, PRIA believes that it should be imposed internally within government, not through increased regulation of external parties. For example, we believe the onus of reporting interactions with stakeholders should be fully borne by government.

Download PRIA's submission to the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) to help inform its investigation into potential corruption risks in the current lobbying regulatory system and practices in NSW.

Last Updated: December 2, 2010