Annastacia Palaszczuk has flagged tightening laws that govern political lobbying in Queensland, while acknowledging a “blurring” about how different roles and companies are treated under current regulation.
At a press conference on Thursday, the state’s premier deflected questions as to whether her former staffer helped win a public contract months after she left Palaszczuk’s office.
The Australian reported this week that Anacta Strategies, run by Labor-aligned figures Evan Moorhead and David Nelson, had won a contract, without tender, to provide training and advice to government-owned renewable energy corporation CleanCo. The contract is being managed by Palaszczuk’s former deputy chief of staff, Denise Spinks.
Anacta provides both lobbying and consultancy services, and the company told the Australian that Spinks was hired as a consultant, not a lobbyist. CleanCo told the newspaper it did not employ Anacta “to engage or communicate with any party” on the company’s behalf.
Palazczuk said she expected former government staffers to abide by post-separation protocols which ban business meetings with state officials on any matter related to their previous government duties for 18 months.
The premier said she was advised that business was not discussed at a meeting that took place between Spinks, who started consulting to CleanCo in February after leaving government in September, and the renewable energy minister, Mick de Brenni.
De Brenni confirmed to the Australian he had met with Spinks, but told the newspaper: “We discussed the importance of renewables and CleanCo and no lobbying activity took place.”
Palaszczuk directed reporters to speak to the energy minister over claims that Anacta donated $35,000 to the party the day before the meeting, and questions about whether the pair did discuss CleanCo.
Asked if it was appropriate for lobbyists to donate to political parties generally, the premier said that matter had been reviewed and recommended by former public servant Kevin Yearbury and was being investigated by a parliamentary committee.
She also seemed to acknowledge Crime and Corruption Commission concerns that existing lobbying regulation does not capture in-house lobbying done by employees of larger companies, which are not subject to the same scrutiny as lobbying firms.
“If we need to tighten rules, we will do so,” the premier said.
“There is a blurring at the moment of people who are either in-house, working for in-house legal firms, for people who are government relations, and these are issues that will be looked at in the context of that review and the committee.”
“We’ve got the strongest laws in the country, but if we can enhance those laws we always will.”
Anacta’s Moorehead, a former state MP and Labor state secretary, helped to run the party’s election campaign in 2020.
The firm has donated more than $160,000 to the Queensland Labor party since the start of 2020.
Anacta told the Australian it had previously received advice from the Queensland Integrity Commissioner confirming that consultancy services to state agencies did not constitute lobbying or business meetings.
Nelson has previously said Anacta made “no apologies for being a Labor firm” and would continue to support the party within the rules.
He said Anacta supported ongoing regulation of political donations and that all the company’s donations had been declared in accordance with the law.
“Queensland has some of the strictest regulations in the country, with real-time disclosures and donation caps,” he said.
“Should the laws be tightened further, we will continue to abide by them.”
AJ Brown, a professor of public policy and law at Griffith University and a board member of Transparency International Australia, told Guardian Australia last week that donations from lobbyists should be banned outright.
He said concerns stemmed from the fact a lobbyist’s core business is to promote the interests of third-party clients.
“It defeats the purpose of donation transparency,” Brown said.
