By Violet Li
City of Casey has advocated for lobbying regulations on councillors in its submission to the proposed State Government Lobbying Reform.
Casey’s submission responded to a series of questions on councillor compliance with restrictions, whether all lobbying directed at councillors should be reportable, and who should be required to disclose lobbying activity.
In the consultation paper, the State Government is mulling introducing new lobbying legislation focused on the currently unregulated local government level to align with other jurisdictions.
Casey Council states that it would welcome new reforms to support changing the lobbying restrictions for councillors and address the lobbying risks that were
identified as part of IBAC’s Operation Sandon Special Report.
Imposing success fee bans and cooling-off periods on councillors are the restrictions Council believe would prevent post-service employment conflicts and ensure decisions are made in the public interest.
Furthermore, Council seeks a clearer definition of a lobbyist as well as further detail on how councillors can distinguish the difference between lobbying activities and general speaking interactions with members of the community.
Casey’s submission also emphasises that all lobbying activity directed at local government Councillors should be reportable.
“Full disclosure would enable greater transparency and allow the public to scrutinise interactions that could influence decision-making”, Casey mayor Cr Stefan Koomen said
“However, if a full disclosure is seen as too much, at the very least, any lobbying that involves money or tries to affect policy decisions and planning should be reported.”
Council states ideally both lobbyists and councillors should be required to disclose certain information about lobbying activities.
“Lobbyists should disclose the purpose, nature, and outcomes of their lobbying efforts, as well as any financial incentives provided,” the submission proposes.
“Councillors, on the other hand, should report all meetings, communications, and any potential conflicts of interest either through the COI process or another process (ie Lobbying/Lobbyist Register).”
According to Engage Victoria, an engagement report on the proposed Lobbying Reform will be out in April this year.
