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It’s no secret the alcohol, food, tobacco and gambling industries lobby government ministers to shape public policy for their own benefit.
Over the past decade or more, we know such lobbying has tried to delay implementation of pregnancy warning labels on alcohol, block plain packaging of tobacco, and weaken gambling regulation.
So it’s clearly in the public interest to know who’s lobbying whom, how often, and what they’re spending on influencing our government ministers and their advisors.
There are lobbyist registers in all Australian jurisdictions, except the Northern Territory. So you’d think these registers would give you a clue.
But as new research shows, these registers don’t give us a comprehensive picture of who’s lobbying whom, how often, and how much they spend. Most registers weren’t set up to provide this information. Most are merely a digital directory of certain types of lobbyists.
They only provide information about “third party” lobbyists who work for professional lobby firms. This excludes those working directly for tobacco or alcohol companies, or industry associations. In practice, this means a great deal of lobbying is hidden from the public.
Jennifer Lacy-Nichols, from the University of Melbourne, and Katherine Cullerton, from the University of Queensland, explain what little they found when they tried to find out who’s lobbying whom.
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Anna Evangeli
Deputy Health Editor
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Jennifer Lacy-Nichols, The University of Melbourne; Katherine Cullerton, The University of Queensland
We found lobbying registers were hard to navigate and not detailed enough.
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Jane McAdam, UNSW Sydney
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Mary Anne Kenny, Murdoch University
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Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra
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Trevor Mazzucchelli, Curtin University
Parents may be familiar with this scenario: a child is well behaved at school and polite to their teachers but has a meltdown at home in the afternoon.
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Mark Kenny, Australian National University
While most are still relatively new to federal politics, the teal independents have had a big impact on the way the country is run.
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Deborah Lau, CSIRO
United Nations efforts to advance a global treaty on plastic pollution echo past multilateral agreements that tackled ozone layer depletion and acid rain.
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Jessica Gildersleeve, University of Southern Queensland
Christos Tsiolkas’s new novel is more interested in individuals and our influences on one another than on Australia’s social problems.
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Gilberto Roque, University of Southern Queensland
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Trish Keeper, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
Laid-off Supie staff were paid by an anonymous donor – but many employees never get what they’re owed when a company fails. New Zealand should follow overseas examples to better protect workers.
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Stephen Garnett, Charles Darwin University
Our birds are tough. They went through some mean climatic conditions to make Australia home.
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Politics + Society
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Eileen O'Brien, University of South Australia; Catriona Stevens, Edith Cowan University; Loretta Virginia Baldassar
Elder abuse is common and can be devastating. New research has uncovered four key reasons older people do not seek the help they need with the abuse.
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Timothy Welch, University of Auckland
With the Clean Car Discount under threat, more large, polluting and dangerous vehicles will hit New Zealand roads. That will further discourage walking and cycling.
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Katie Robertson, The University of Melbourne; Michelle Foster, The University of Melbourne
The overturning of almost 20 years of legal precedent allowing indefinite detention is a watershed moment. But stateless people in Australia have few rights and little say over their futures.
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Health + Medicine
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James Wood, UNSW Sydney; Bette Liu, UNSW Sydney; Katie Louise Flanagan, University of Tasmania; Stuart Turville, UNSW Sydney
This is expected to be the smallest Omicron wave so far. But eligible older and vulnerable people are still recommended to have a booster.
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Erin Morton, Flinders University
Menopause is technically the single day 12 months after your last period. But perimenopause can last years. Here’s what to look for.
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Science + Technology
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Jonti Horner, University of Southern Queensland
Viral headlines would have you think Saturn’s rings will vanish in just 18 months. Here’s what that really means and why you don’t need to worry.
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Environment + Energy
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Lauren Roman, University of Tasmania
Muttonbird ‘wrecks’ are becoming more common. Despite speculation about many possible causes, the evidence points to changes in the Arctic ocean ecosystem from where the birds migrate to Australia.
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Business + Economy
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David Rowe, Western Sydney University
Stadium naming rights are controversial at the best of times, so why do companies pay so much for them?
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