38/2010
15 July 2010
Creating an industry association for lobbyists and harmonising state and federal Lobbying Codes of Conduct are issues being considered by the Gillard Government for possible reform in a discussion paper on the lobbyist industry.
Special Minister of State, Senator Joe Ludwig, said the paper raised several proposals aimed at strengthening and maintaining the integrity of the Lobbying Code of Conduct and Register of Lobbyists.
“The Australian Government has always said it would keep the Code and Register under review, to maintain openness, transparency and accountability in government,” Senator Ludwig said.
“The proposals in this paper are intended as a starting point for discussions on the way forward for future reforms.”
“We will consider the need to amend the requirements of the Code and Register in light of the feedback we receive.”
Some of the issues raised in the discussion paper include:
“The discussion paper is informed by the outcomes of a roundtable meeting of lobbyists in March this year,” Senator Ludwig said.
“I encourage a debate within the community that will look at ways to improve the Government’s scheme.”
“We need to ensure that contact between lobbyists and representatives from Government are conducted in accordance with public expectations of integrity and honesty. That’s why the Labor Government introduced a Lobbying Code of Conduct and Register shortly after coming to power.”
A copy of the discussion paper is available at: http://lobbyists.pmc.gov.au/. Comments should be submitted via email to lobbyistsregister@pmc.gov.au by Thursday 20 September 2010.
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