風蕭蕭_Frank
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遊說禍害
https://johnmenadue.com/the-lobbying-scourge/
作者：約翰·梅納杜 2024 年 4 月 12 日
沒有遊說者超出此標誌
遊說是為了贏得政治利益，從而腐蝕市場並阻止公開競爭。 圖片：維基
遊說改革的主要障礙是，對於議員、其工作人員和高級官員來說，遊說在他們離開議會、軍隊或公共服務部門時提供了非常豐厚的收入。 因此他們拒絕對遊說禍害采取行動。
向參議院財政和公共行政參考委員會提交的有關遊說的意見書，2024 年 2 月 8 日。
對澳大利亞遊說管理方式的監管是比國家誠信委員會更重要的問題。
化石燃料行業對世界各國政府的遊說是我們現在麵臨的氣候緊急情況的一個主要原因。 我們的高級軍官和軍火工業之間存在著一道旋轉門，軍火走私者為他們提供了豐厚的退休工作。
主要政黨已表現出對遊說禍害不感興趣。 說客隊伍中充滿了前部長、前政治工作人員和前黨官員。
各政黨迫切需要和機會合作，強製立法，對遊說者進行有效監管，使公眾利益始終至高無上
人們對政府和議會失去信任的一個主要原因是，強大的特殊利益集團及其遊說者已經開始主導公共辯論，並使決策向有利於他們的方向傾斜。 化石燃料行業是最近最明顯的例子。
普遍存在的問題
近年來，遊說活動急劇增長，尤其是在堪培拉。 現在，它代表了善治和健全公共政策發展方麵日益嚴重的腐敗現象。 在談到所謂的氣候變化“公共辯論”時，羅斯·加諾特教授強調了既得利益者對氣候變化公共討論帶來的“惡魔問題”。
總理和內閣部前秘書馬丁·帕金森警告說，“既得利益者”以犧牲普通公民的利益為代價尋求政府讓步。 在談到反對公司稅和碳汙染改革政策時，SMH 的羅斯·吉廷斯 (Ross Gittins) 表示，“行業遊說團體在以犧牲更廣泛的公共利益為代價來壓製私人利益方麵變得越來越不拘束。 [他們]強烈抵製改革建議。”
問題越來越嚴重
大約有 280 個遊說實體在堪培拉向總理和內閣部注冊。 他們代表 3600 多名客戶進行遊說，並雇用近 900 名員工作為說客。
除了這些“第三方”遊說者之外，還有一些特殊利益集團自己進行遊說，例如澳大利亞礦產委員會、澳大利亞藥房協會和澳大利亞商業委員會。
這些遊說者涉及一係列利益，包括采礦、俱樂部、醫院、私人健康保險基金、企業和酒店，他們都在許多方麵成功地挑戰了政府政策和公共利益。
想想澳大利亞礦產委員會為擊敗礦業超額利潤稅並推翻陸克文總理所做的努力吧。 該委員會領導了反對碳稅的運動，碳稅仍然是通過對“外部性”征稅來減少碳汙染的最明智的方式。
澳大利亞俱樂部開展了阻撓賭博改革的活動。 賭博業通過不間斷的廣告活動假裝有社會良知，但用小字告訴受害者“負責任地賭博”。
我們看到澳大利亞飲料委員會在破壞糖專家關於解決日益流行的肥胖和糖尿病問題的意見方麵所發揮的社會破壞性作用。
在 2007 年大選之前，私人健康保險業收到了陸克文的一封機密信，表示政府將繼續提供補貼。 幾年後我們才知道這一點。
據估計，堪培拉有超過 2000 名遊說者擁有“橙色通行證”，可以讓他們在無人陪同的情況下進入國會大廈的私人區域。 從巴頓和金斯頓的許多辦事處步行即可輕鬆到達國會大廈，例如澳大利亞礦產委員會、藥劑行會、AMA、洛克希德·馬丁公司、諾斯羅普·格魯曼公司和澳大利亞商業委員會等。 從酒店步行即可輕鬆抵達總理和內閣、財政部、財政部和國家新聞俱樂部。 一個真正的大堂！
遊說是為了贏得政治利益，從而腐蝕市場並阻止競爭。
土地重新規劃就是最明顯的例子。 獲得有利的重新分區並大幅增加財產的價值。
秘密遊說活動普遍且陰險。 它必須變得透明並受到嚴格限製，但不能
限製 ACOSS、紅十字會和世界宣明會等重要組織發表意見的權利。
由於新聞資源不足，媒體越來越依賴遊說團體在公共領域進行的宣傳和推廣。 我們在媒體上讀到、聽到和看到的許多所謂的經濟和商業經濟學家都受雇於銀行和會計師事務所，他們有自己的私利議程。 毫不奇怪，他們對銀行的萎靡和腐敗一無所知。 隻有皇家委員會才揭露了到底發生了什麽
富有的私立學校擁有遊說和政治影響力，是基於需求的資助的障礙，而出於公平和效率的原因，基於需求的資助是必要的。
堪培拉各部門的許多政策技能已經被降級，“政策”工作被外包給政策技能差且沒有企業記憶的會計和谘詢公司。 這種工作分配是以縮小政府規模的名義進行的，但它為那些為大而強大的公司工作的會計和商業夥伴及其遊說者提供了重大優勢。 這使得公共服務部門更難在遊說者不斷要求優惠待遇的情況下維護公共利益。 缺乏經驗和年輕的部長級工作人員更有可能聽取既得利益者和遊說者的意見。
那麽需要進行哪些改革呢？
一些州開始解決遊說的禍害，但聯邦政府卻落在了後麵。
聯邦遊說者必須在總理和內閣部注冊，但這遠遠不夠。 他們還應有義務及時、公開、準確地披露與部長、影子部長和高級公務員的討論和會議。 同樣的規則也應適用於既得利益者，例如澳大利亞礦產委員會，該委員會直接代表自己進行遊說。 他們是最公然、最反社會的遊說者。
所有持有橙色通行證的遊說者都應該被禁止進入澳大利亞各地的議會大廈。 讓他們遊說其他地方的國會議員。
特殊利益團體的所有提案均應附有由獨立專業機構編製的公共利益影響聲明。 該聲明應公開，並附在利益集團的陳述中。 主要私人谘詢公司和四大會計師事務所應被排除在這一過程之外，因為其中許多公司已經表明自己在客戶利益方麵受到了損害。
公共事務研究所和悉尼研究所等接受秘密資助並充當既得利益幌子的智庫不應獲得稅收優惠。
衛生等政府部門尤其受特殊利益影響，應該有不同的治理安排。 衛生部傳統的部長/部門模式是遊說者和既得利益者的快樂狩獵場，極大地破壞和破壞了緊迫的醫療改革。 由獨立專業人士組成的儲備銀行已經顯示出治理安排在限製既得利益和促進知情的公眾辯論方麵的好處。 我們在其他重要的政策領域也需要這樣的安排。
部長或高級官員不得與退休或辭職後至少三年有關聯的既得利益集團合作。 據估計，超過 50% 的注冊遊說者此前曾在政府、聯盟黨和工黨工作過。
為澳大利亞廣播公司提供充足的資金，以確保其能夠維護公眾利益並促進公眾辯論，現在比以往任何時候都更加重要。 盡管有明顯的缺點，澳大利亞廣播公司仍然是該國最值得信賴的媒體機構。 新聞集團是最不值得信任的。
對選舉資金進行重大改革以阻止強勢團體收買政治恩惠至關重要。
由隨機選出的、充分了解關鍵公共問題的人組成的公民大會可以維護公共利益並幫助政府對抗強大的既得利益。
既得利益及其在公共辯論中的腐敗問題必須得到解決。 如果我們要實現民主複興、恢複對我們公共機構的信心並製定健全的公共政策，這一點就迫在眉睫。
必須緊急處理遊說的禍害以及對良好和開放政府的破壞。 很多事情都麵臨風險。
但改革的一個主要障礙是，對於議員、其工作人員和高級官員來說，遊說在他們離開議會或公共服務部門時提供了非常豐厚的收入。
強大的遊說團體不僅促進自己的利益，而且還損害那些應該監督他們的人——議會議員。
The lobbying scourge
https://johnmenadue.com/the-lobbying-scourge/
The major obstacle to lobbying reform is that for members of parliament, their staff and senior officials, lobbying provides a very lucrative income when they leave parliament, the military or the public service. So they refuse to act on the lobbying scourge.
Submission to Senate Finance and Public Administration References Committee re Lobbying, February 8, 2024.
Regulation of the way we manage lobbying in Australia is an even more important issue than a National Integrity Commission.
The lobbying of governments around the world by the fossil fuel industry is a major reason for the Climate Emergency we now face. There is a revolving door between our senior military officers and the arms industry, the gun runners who offer them lucrative retirement jobs.
The major parties have shown themselves to be disinterested in the lobbying scourge. The ranks of lobbyist are filled with ex Ministers, ex political staffers and former party officials.
There is an urgent need and opportunity for political parties to cooperate to force legislation for the effective regulation of lobbyists so that the public interest is always paramount
A major reason for the loss of trust in governments and parliaments is the way powerful special interests with their lobbyists have come to dominate the public debate and skew decisions in their favour. The fossil fuel sector is the most blatant and recent example.
The widespread problem
Lobbying has grown dramatically in recent years, particularly in Canberra. It now represents a growing and serious corruption of good governance and the development of sound public policy. In referring to the so called ‘public debate’ on climate change, Professor Ross Garnaut highlighted the “diabolical problem” that vested interests brought to bear on public discussion on climate change.
Martin Parkinson, a former secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, has warned about “vested interests” who seek concessions from government at the expense of ordinary citizens. In referring to opposition to company tax and carbon pollution reform policies, Ross Gittins in the SMH said “industry lobby groups [have] become less inhibited in pressing private interests at the expense of the wider public interest. [They] are ferociously resistant to reform proposals.”
The problem is growing
There are about 280 lobbying entities registered in Canberra with the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. They lobby on behalf of over 3600 clients and employ close to 900 staff as lobbyists.
On top of these “third party” lobbyists, there are the special interests who conduct their own lobbying, such as the Minerals Council of Australia, the Australian Pharmacy Guild and the Business Council of Australia.
These lobbyists encompass a range of interests including mining, clubs, hospitals, private health insurance funds, business and hotels that have all successfully challenged government policy and the public interest in many ways.
Just think what the Minerals Council of Australia did to defeat the mining super profits tax and bring down Kevin Rudd as prime minister. That same council led the campaign to defeat the carbon tax which remains the most sensible way to cut carbon pollution by taxing “externalities”.
There are the activities of Clubs Australia to thwart gambling reform. With its non stop advertising campaign the gambling industry pretends to have a social conscience but telling victims in small print to ‘gamble responsibly’.
We saw the socially damaging role of the Beverage Council of Australia in undermining expert opinion on sugar on ways to address the growing epidemic of obesity and diabetes.
Before the 2007 election the private health insurance industry received a confidential letter from Kevin Rudd that in government the subsidy would continue. We learned about it years later.
It is estimated that over 2000 lobbyists in Canberra have ‘orange passes’ that give them unescorted access to the private areas of Parliament House. It is also easy walking to Parliament House from their many offices in Barton and Kingston such as the Minerals Council of Australia, the Pharmacy Guild, AMA, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and the Business Council of Australia to mention just a few. They are also located in easy walking distance to Prime Minister and Cabinet, Treasury, Finance and the National Press Club. A real Lobbyland!
Lobbying is about winning political favours that corrupt markets and prevent competition.
Land rezoning is the most blatant example. Get a favourable re-zoning and dramatically increase the value of the property.
Secret lobbying is pervasive and insidious. It must be made transparent and drastically curbed but without limiting the right to be heard by such important organisations as ACOSS, Red Cross and World Vision.
With journalism under-resourced, the media depends increasingly on the propaganda and promotion put into the public arena by lobby groups. Many of the so-called economic and business economists we read, hear and see on our media are in the employ of the banks and accounting firms with their own self-interested agendas. It was no surprise that they gave us no inkling of the malaise and corruption of the banks. Only a royal commission exposed what was really happening
The wealthy private schools with their lobbying and political clout are obstacles to needs-based funding, which is necessary for both equity and efficiency reasons.
Much of the policy skills in Canberra departments have been downgraded and “policy” work is contracted out to accounting and consultancy firms with poor policy skills and no corporate memory. This handing out of work is done in the name of downsizing government but it gives a major advantage to those accounting and business associates and their lobbyists who work for large and powerful corporations. That makes it harder for the public service to safeguard the public interest against lobbyists with their incessant demands for favourable treatment. Inexperienced and young ministerial staffers are much more likely to listen to vested interests with their lobbyists.
So what reforms are necessary?
Some States are beginning to address the scourge of lobbying but the Commonwealth Government is a laggard.
Federal lobbyists have to be registered with the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, but this is grossly inadequate. They should also be obliged to promptly, publicly and accurately disclose the discussions and meetings they have had with ministers, shadow ministers and senior public servants. That same rule should apply to vested interests such as the Minerals Council of Australia, which lobbies directly on its own behalf. They are the most blatant and anti social lobbyists of all.
All lobbyists with their orange passes should be banned from parliament houses across Australia. Let them lobby MPs elsewhere.
All proposals by special interest groups should be accompanied by a public interest impact statement prepared by an independent and professional body. This statement should be made public and would be attached to representations from the interest group. Major private consulting firms and the four large accounting firms should be excluded from this process as many of them have shown themselves to be compromised in the interests of their clients.
Think tanks such as the Institute of Public Affairs and the Sydney Institute, which are secretly funded and act as fronts for vested interests, should not receive tax benefits.
Government departments such as Health, which are especially influenced by special interests, should have different governance arrangements. The traditional minister/department model in the Health Department is a happy hunting ground for lobbyists and vested interests, significantly undermining and sabotaging urgent health reforms. The Reserve Bank, composed of independent and professional persons, has shown the benefit of governance arrangements in keeping vested interests at bay and promoting an informed public debate. We need such an arrangement in other important policy areas as well.
No minister or senior official should work with a vested interest group that they have been associated with for at least three years after retirement or resignation. It is estimated that more than 50 per cent of registered lobbyists have previously worked in government, for the Coalition and Labor.
Adequate funding of the ABC, to ensure it can assert the public interest and promote public debate, is now more important than ever. The ABC, despite its obvious shortcomings, is still the most trusted media institution in the country. News Corp is the least trusted.
Major reform of election funding to stop powerful groups buying political favours is essential.
Citizen assemblies of randomly selected people who are fully informed on key public issues could assert the public interest and help governments counter powerful vested interests.
The problem of vested interests and their corruption of public debate must be tackled. This is urgent if we are to have democratic renewal, restore some faith in our public institutions and develop sound public policies.
The scourge of lobbying and the undermining of good and open government must be dealt with urgently. A great deal is at risk.
But a major obstacle to reform is that for members of parliament, their staff and senior officials, lobbying provides a very lucrative income when they leave parliament or the public service.
Powerful lobby groups not only promote their own interests but compromise those who should be supervising them — members of Parliament.
An earlier version of this post appeared, Sep 14, 2022 in P&I and is available here.
