Open Letter to Anthony Albanese, Prime Minister of Australia

Dear Prime Minister, 

Democracy in Australia is being undermined by the excessive influence, even control, of our nation-state by politically powerful vested interests. This process, known as ‘state capture’, can involve the capture of the Government, Opposition, public service, mass media, etc. It results in government policies and actions being made at the expense of the public interest. Major captors include the fossil fuel, property development, military-industrial, financial services and gambling industries, and some very rich individuals. The impacts are environmental destruction including climate change, large and growing social inequality, loss of human and worker rights, suppression of political and cultural dissent, involvement in overseas wars, opaque government decision-making, and addiction. 

The methods of state capture include revolving door jobs between political decision-makers and vested interests, consultancies, non-transparent lobbying, political donations, election expenditure, concentrated media ownership and so-called ‘think tanks’ funded by vested interests. These methods are supported by neoliberal economics ideology, whose mantra, ‘leave it to the market’, results in handing over major socioeconomic decisions to the one per cent who control the market. The methods are sources of potential conflict of interest and corruption in government decision-making. At present they are weakly regulated, if at all. Existing regulations are not enforced. They could and should be more rigorously regulated and enforced to maintain democracy in the public interest. The present petition proposes policies to regulate more effectively two of the methods of state capture, revolving door jobs and lobbying.

In recent years, the use of these methods has been prevalent and blatant. Retiring Ministers for Resources in both major political parties have promptly commenced highly paid jobs in resource industries or their lobby groups. Former Ministers for Defence has taken up appointments in multinational weapons manufacturers. Shortly before the AUKUS agreement was announced, the Department of Defence was employing as consultants several retired US admirals to advise it on defence procurement. Lobbying has grown to a huge industry. 

Our open letter requests actions to rein in the above two key methods of state capture and so strengthen democratic decision-making.

The specific requests

We citizens of Australia request that federal, state and territory governments take the following actions:

1.     Revolving door jobs:  Extend Ministerial Standards to ensure that retiring Ministers and senior public servants do not accept a position or consultancy in an industry or closely related industry for which they were responsible as Ministers or senior public servants, for at least three years following retirement.

2.     Lobbying code:  Replace the federal Lobbying Code of Conduct with a legislative regime designed to promote transparency, uphold integrity, and encourage equality of access.

3.     Lobbyist definition:  Amend the definition of ‘lobbyist’ to capture the activity of lobbying in all relevant forms, including unpaid and in-house.

4.     Lobbyist register:  Amend the Register of Lobbyists to publish monthly details of which politicians and public servants the lobbyist met with, and when, and to disclose who has unescorted access (security pass) to Parliament House.

5.     Ministerial diaries:  Publish Ministerial diaries monthly to enable public scrutiny of individuals whom Ministers are meeting with, to encourage a wider range of views and promote equity of access.

6.     Statutory body:  Establish an adequately funded, independent, statutory body to administer, regulate and enforce post-separation employment standards, the lobbying regime, consultancies and Codes of Conduct for parliamentarians and lobbyists.

7.     Sanctions:  Introduce sanctions – including criminal, blacklisting, fines and loss of security passes – to reflect the severity of any breach of Ministerial Standards or Codes of Conduct.

Further reading

Australian Democracy Network (2022). Confronting State Capture. https://australiandemocracy.org.au/ (click on Resources)

Centre for Public Integrity (2025). A Seat at the Table: Embedding transparency, integrity, and equality into the federal lobbying regime. https://publicintegrity.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/A-Seat-at-the-Table-Embedding-Integrity-Transparency-and-Equality-into-the-Federal-Lobbying-Regime-_07.07.25-FINAL.pdf

The Washington Post (2023). https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/interactive/2022/australia-nuclear-submarines-us-admirals/

Transparency International Australia (2021). Lobbying and Revolving Doors: Analysis and Recommendations. https://transparency.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/TIA-Position-Paper_Lobbying-and-Revolving-Doors_Final.pdf

Organisational signatories

Australian Democracy Network
Australian Youth Climate Coalition
Catholic Peace Movement
Centre for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy (NSW)
Economic Reform Australia
Medical Association for the Prevention of War
Nature Conservation Council of NSW
Rising Tide
Sydney Retired Unionist Group
STEP Inc.
Willoughby Environmental Protection Association