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PRIA Submission on the Operation of the Lobbyist Register

As the new year gets well and truly underway, PRIA has been busy fulfilling its role as an advocator of government relations and lobbying, with our recent submission to the current Senate Inquiry regarding the Operation of the Lobbying Code of Conduct and the Lobbyist Register.

As the national peak body for public relations and communication professionals, including lobbyists, in Australia, PRIA has welcomed opportunities over the past three years to discuss lobbyist registration and assist the profession in making effective representations to federal, state and local government. The recent submission to the Senate Inquiry supports our key goal of enhancing awareness of public relations’ role in contributing to open, honest and respectful communication, as well as identifying and advocating key public priorities for the profession.

Within the public relations and communication industry, lobbyists play an important, legal and legitimate role, engaging in public advocacy on behalf of their clients and ensuring that a wide range of stakeholders have a say in, and understand the process of government policymaking. Through their knowledge of both public policy process and their employer’s or client’s business, lobbyists are also in the position of being able to help voice divergent views, navigate complex procedures and contribute valuable insights into policy implementation and impacts.

With this role in mind, PRIA has suggested that the key issues in the current regulation of lobbying lie within the transparency and openness of government decision making, stakeholder engagement, freedom of expression and the democratic right for every citizen to have a voice. PRIA is strongly committed to both the transparency of representation and of the process in relation to public advocacy.

Remembering this commitment, we concluded that whilst the Code of Conduct itself is transparent, simple to operate, affordable and places a reasonable burden on lobbyists and government officers - the operation of the Lobbyist Register has some aspects worthy of concern. In view of these concerns, all recommendations made within our submission to the Senate Inquiry support such actions as:

• The Registration of all third party lobbyists, the declaration and management of conflicting interests, and clear guidelines on employment of former government officers
• The building of a single consistent Code and registration regime across the country
• An agreed terminology across Federal and State Jurisdictions

The full submission can be downloaded here.