Pulping Our Future - Lobbying Tasmanian Style

Leadership Vacuum Fosters Lobbying and "Consultants"

If you thought lobbying in WA was a bit "on-the-nose", then spare a thought for our Tasmanian friends. As in Western Australia, lobbying in Tasmania has become a vital service because of the dumbing-down of those in political office and their acolytes.

If there is no-one on the government payroll who is prepared to help or assist, then companies and individuals have no alternative but to turn to private lobbyists. They will always do this reluctantly, because they have to pay for the service!

I'm told a mining company was having a huge problem recently with the Tasmanian bureaucracy. Who could they turn to? The Premier is the Minister for Mines, and no-one can see him because he is the Premier. There has been no adviser for mines since the previous Deputy Premier (then Minister for Mines) was sacked. So they turned to another government staff member (a proactive one heaven forbid!). If that person had not been available, they would have had to use a private service - if they could find one - and pay for it. The staffer was effectively the lobbyist.

If governments were available and prepared to listen to industry and constituents, there would be no need for lobbyists. Recently the Tasmanian Labor Government employed a "consultant" to help them with problems in the delivery of health services, the "consultant" they employed was former Labor Premier Doug Lowe. Is he not a lobbyist by another name?

The big issue recently has been the $1.5 billion Gunns pulp mill proposal. Gunns have a former Liberal Premier Robin Gray on their board to do their lobbying. Gunns has openly employed former Upper House independent member Tony Fletcher as a lobbyist. Fletcher has been quite heavy-handed and was reported recently in the "Mercury" to have reduced one female MLC to tears. No-one kicked up a fuss about that.

Have a close look at who are in positions of influence in Western Australia; many are Labor Party hacks that the Desert Rat wouldn't feed. Many do nothing in their positions but collect their fees. Most are of no help when problems need to be resolved.

The problem for very successful lobbyists like Burke and Grill is, that if you're too influential - even in a constructive and positive sense, those with the reins of power who feel threatened by your influence or worse will hate you, and shall try to curtail or destroy that influence - in an effort to reassert their own.

Politicians are lobbied by all and sundry. The decisions politicians make are what is important and they need to satisfy themselves they have taken the best course of action.