It’s time to shine a light on the shady world of political lobbying

Greenhouse Mafia

For decades, lobbyists for the fossil fuel industry have worked hard to embed themselves deep within the federal bureaucracy in an attempt to influence the national government’s stance on climate change. During the Howard era, when they were so influential they earned the nickname “Greenhouse Mafia”, lobbyists allegedly had direct access to the Prime Minister. They were even brought into government departments to craft cabinet submissions and ministerial briefings.¹

Santos Barossa gas project

Fossil fuel giant Santos has been lobbying hard to get the green light for its dirty Barossa gas project, offshore north of Darwin, especially since the project was halted in 2022 for failing to assess potential impacts to cultural heritage sites.² As of January this year, the court ruled against Traditional Owners and the indictment has been lifted – allowing the project to continue.²

Last year, Santos also realised it needed a loophole for the Barossa gas project to get past Australia’s emissions reduction standards. The company lobbied the government until, in November 2023, legislation was passed to allow Santos to travel across state boundaries to bury its carbon emissions in Timor Leste’s waters, despite the lack of evidence backing carbon capture and storage technology.³ Senator David Pocock said the passing of the legislation, which he referred to as the “Santos Amendment Bill”, demonstrates the “extraordinary access that the fossil fuel industry has with the Labor government.”⁴

There’s also been speculation that in an attempt for even more special treatment, Santos has lobbied the resources Minister, who in late-March 2024 sneakily tried to pass legislation that would fast-track gas project approvals.⁵ Greens Senator Dorinda Cox has labeled Santos’ influence over policy as “climate and culture-wrecking state capture at its worst.”⁶

Santos is not a registered client on the Lobbyist Register which means they are using in-house lobbyists to keep their activities secret.

In-house gambling lobbyists

A delve into the Federal Register of Lobbyists shows that Crown, Tabcorp, and the Australian Hotels Association all contract third-party lobbying firms to do bidding on their behalf. What isn’t disclosed on the register is the activities of the permanent lobbyists on staff at gambling bodies ClubsNSW and Clubs Australia, which have a strong presence in Canberra.⁷

Pharmacy Guild of Australia

Unlike the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia that represents all pharmacists, the Pharmacy guild of Australia is a powerful lobby group that seeks to boost profits of community pharmacy owners.⁸ Alongside their large political donations, the Guild has historically used its lobbying efforts to successfully block or amend several pieces of government legislation, including policies that would have benefited consumers.

Every five years the Australian government consults with the Pharmacy Guild before delivering the Community Pharmacy Agreement which governs how pharmacies are reimbursed for dispensing medicines, and other pharmacy services. There’s a lack of transparency around the Guild’s lobbying activities, despite the huge amounts of money at stake in these negotiations and the significance of community pharmacy as a public resource.

Last year the government announced changes to a scheme that would allow patients to pick up 60 days worth of prescription medication instead of 30 days, with the aim of saving consumers time and money.⁹ In response, the Pharmacy Guild came out swinging, hiring professional lobbying firm Crosby Textor to ramp up efforts on top of their already in-house lobbyists. A Senator that spoke to Michael West Media said that “federal parliament was overwhelmed by reps from The Pharmacy Guild because of the prescription reforms.”⁹

In March 2024 the Pharmacy Guild celebrated a $3 billion government payout in response to pushback against the 60-day dispensing scheme.¹⁰

Phillip Morris and vaping laws

In 2018/19, when the government was starting to consider a ban on e-cigarettes and nicotine vapes, tobacco giant Phillip Morris ramped up its lobbying efforts, sending meeting requests to the Prime Minister, Health Minister and many others. Next, Phillip Morris poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into the PR firm Australian Retailers Association, which set up a new lobbying arm called the Australian Retail Vaping Industry Association. Together, they targeted backbenchers to pressure the government to support a Senate Inquiry into the role of e-cigarettes in tobacco harm reduction.¹

Over the past 10 years the alcohol lobby has pushed to delay the implementation of pregnancy warning labels on alcohol packaging.¹¹