- Title
- Australian lobbyist registers are not serving the purposes they were designed for
- Creator
- Robertson, Narelle; Kypri, Kypros; Stafford, Julia; Daube, Mike; Avery, Michelle; Miller, Peter
- Relation
- ARC.LP130100046 http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/LP130100046
- Relation
- Drug and Alcohol Review Vol. 37, Issue S1, p. S218-S222
- Publisher Link
- http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/dar.12583
- Publisher
- Wiley-Blackwell
- Resource Type
- journal article
- Date
- 2018
- Description
- Introduction and Aims: There is widespread concern about the nature, extent and impacts of lobbying by industries selling unhealthy commodities, which threatens public health and undermines important democratic processes. In the last decade, all Australian jurisdictions (except the Northern Territory) have established lobbyist registers with the stated objective of increasing the capacity of government and the public to scrutinise lobbying. Our aim was to assess whether the registers are fulfilling this objective. Design and Methods: We conducted web searches of registers in Australian jurisdictions in 2014 and 2015 to determine what type of information they collected and whether data were accessible. We supplemented searches with e-mails and phone calls to registrars to clarify policies and seek additional information. Results: We found that the data were lacking in critical details and historical information was difficult or impossible to obtain. None of the registers required in-house lobbyists to register or to be bound by the Lobbying Codes of Conduct. None required that informal lobbying (e.g. by government relations staff within a company) be recorded, and none provided detailed information about the nature and extent of lobbying activities. Discussion and Conclusions: The registers do not meet the stated objective of making lobbying activity transparent to the Australian public. Timely access to comprehensive information is essential to help promote the rational development of policy concerning tobacco, alcohol and gambling problems. There is an urgent need to reform lobbyist registers to ensure that they are comprehensive and transparent.
- Subject
- lobbying; politics; government; alcohol; tobacco
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1410296
- Identifier
- uon:36163
- Identifier
- ISSN:0959-5236
- Rights
- Robertson, Narelle; Kypri, Kypros; Stafford, Julia; Daube, Mike; Avery, Michelle; Miller, Peter. “Australian lobbyist registers are not serving the purposes they were designed for”. Drug and Alcohol Review Vol. 37, Issue S1, p. S218-S222 (2018), which has been published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/dar.12583. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions. This article may not be enhanced, enriched or otherwise transformed into a derivative work, without express permission from Wiley or by statutory rights under applicable legislation. Copyright notices must not be removed, obscured or modified. The article must be linked to Wiley’s version of record on Wiley Online Library and any embedding, framing or otherwise making available the article or pages thereof by third parties from platforms, services and websites other than Wiley Online Library must be prohibited.
- Language
- eng
- Full Text
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