PIAC was the only non-profit organisation to make a submission to the Senate Finance and Public Affairs Committee Inquiry into the Lobbying Code of Conduct, recommending that the Code be amended to increase the reporting requirements of both lobbyists and MPs. Our submission can be found here.

PIAC also recommended that any Lobbying Code be extended to all members of Parliament and their staff, rather than being limited to Ministers.

Unfortunately, the final report of the Committee, Knock, knock … who’s there? The Lobbying Code of Conduct, tends to interpret the requirements of the Lobbying Code as placing significant limits on the access of lobbyists to Ministers and vice versa rather than supporting it as an important transparency and accountability mechanism. As such, the Committee was unwilling to extend the requirements beyond the current scope.