Lobby groups/Australia

The Australian lobbying industry is not big business (yet), but it is becoming a significant force in Australian politics.

Most of the principle staff in professional lobby firms have backgrounds working for federal or state politicians. This is often used as a selling point, as it is seen as a good way of ensuring access to and 'relationships' with the decision-makers they are paid to influence. If that doesn't work there are other ways of making friends - advocacy and lobby groups made a total of $412,730 in donations to federal political parties in the 2003/4 financial year, and donated another $477,898 in NSW. [1]

The line between an industry peak body and an industry lobby group can be hard to distinguish, and it's also hard to tell the difference between a Public relations firm and a lobby group. Many of the PR firms listed on Public relations firms/Australia practice 'government relations', 'issues management', and various other euphemisms for the business of influence-peddling.

This page lists a few of the Australian groups that focus more on lobbying than PR.

Professional lobbyists

• Hawker Britton (Labor aligned)
• Parker & Partners (started by Andrew Parker, former advisor to federal Liberal opposition leader John Hewson)
• CPR

Industry lobby groups

• Minerals Council of Australia
• Business Council of Australia
• National Association of Forest Industries
• Australian Institute of Company Directors [2]

Other lobby groups

• Australian Christian Lobby

Front groups

• Australian Environment Foundation
• Timber Communities Australia

Others

• Lavoisier Group
• HR Nichols Society
• Bennelong Society (same postal addres as HR Nichols society)
• Australian Adam Smith Club
• Samuel Griffith Society