I’m proud to second this bill from the member for Kooyong today, to bring transparency to lobbying practices in federal politics. Lobbying is all about influence, access and advocacy. On the face of it, that shouldn’t be a bad thing in politics. It’s an expected part of the work of MPs, governments and stakeholders to seek to advocate for special policy responses for investment in programs or infrastructure. But where it becomes a problem is when people seek to exert undue influence, to use special access to get those results, particularly in ways which subvert decisions in favour of particular interests, in contradiction of the public interest.

We already have some measures in place to keep track of lobbying efforts, as the member for Kooyong says, but these are piecemeal and provide no actual transparency when it really matters. As the member said, the existing lobbyist register lists 727 registered lobbyists, but they’re but 20 per cent of the actual number of people who walk these halls. It doesn’t include those who are internal lobbyists, government relations officials and others. More than 2,000 people hold orange lobbyist passes, giving them access to this building. That’s many, many more than the 727 on the register. And that’s just one example of the massive gap between what we know and what is actually happening.

The Lobbying (Improving Government Honesty and Trust) Bill 2024 would help fill in the gaps in what we know. It would mean we have much better visibility over lobbying activities that are occurring right now. We would know who gets unfettered access to this building—the people’s building—and who is giving them that access. We would know who ministers are meeting with and when they’re meeting. We would know who is influencing those decisions before those decisions are made.

It would also stop the revolving door between lobbying and government, preventing former ministers and their staff from becoming lobbyists for three years after leaving the parliament, to stop that special insider knowledge that is then used for measures other than the public good. This is a vital part of the integrity framework we need to strengthen our democracy. Too often, we’re left questioning whether the decisions made by those in power are made for the right reasons. Is it a decision made or not made because of who’s had the minister’s ear, or is it being made truly in the public interest? I want to have faith that decisions are being made properly, but too often I and the general public are left with nothing but doubt—and doubt fosters mistrust.

We need to strengthen our democracy. The member for Kooyong has given us a solution; let’s debate this bill and clean up politics in Australia.