LobbyWatch: monitoring the fossil fuels lobby in Australia’s ‘climate election’
Ahead of the Australian federal election in May, ACCR will be monitoring the policy advocacy of Australian listed companies and the lobby groups that represent them, on climate and energy issues. And we need your help!
This is the climate election. The current government repealed a nationwide carbon tax in 2014, then sat on its hands for five years while our emissions continued to rise year after year. We are so far behind, and we can’t let anyone block climate policy in this country anymore.
Why does lobbying matter?
ACCR believes that vested interests — of companies that stand to profit from climate policy delay, and their lobbyists — are the primary cause of our national climate policy malaise.
Lobbyists exert influence in many ways, from direct meetings with politicians, to political donations, buying tables at political fundraising events, high profile media appearances, submissions to government inquiries, advertising in traditional and social media channels, and operating under multiple ‘brands’ to spread their message. You can read more about ACCR’s work in holding them accountable here.
In short, lobbyists create a lot of noise and they do it all the time. This makes the job of comprehensive monitoring of the activities of lobby groups a very big one.
And also very important. Lobbyists leverage their political and media relationships to exert an outsized influence on our politics, and most voters lack awareness of how they wield their power to benefit polluters.
Voters need a way to understand the influence of lobbyists, and to hold their political representatives as well as big companies to account. LobbyWatch is where we are going to start.
What we’re going to do
Over the course of the next six weeks, we’re going to ramp up our public scrutiny of the activities of lobby groups, including the Minerals Council of Australia (MCA), the Business Council of Australia (BCA), and the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (APPEA). Through a couple of blog posts a week, we will document and respond to the activities of these groups in real time, throughout the 2019 Australian federal election. This will give voters an insight into how they work, and the political consequences of their activities.
How you can help
This job is so big that we need everyone to be on the lookout! We will undertake the analysis, but we need your help in gathering the information.
If you’re a facebook or twitter user and you notice these groups mentioned in media, advertising in your feed, or doing anything at all, tag us with #lobbywatchAU. Even if it doesn’t seem interesting at the time, it is likely part of a broader strategy aimed at undermining ambitious climate action.
If you want to send us tips or feedback, email us at lobbywatch@accr.org.au.
Thanks for your help! By building and being part of a community of active citizens on the lookout for dodgy lobbying, we think we can get the fossil fuels lobby out of our politics for good.
Further reading
Adam Matthews, Director of Ethics & Engagement at The Church of England Pensions Board — Why contradictory climate lobbying has to end.
Here’s the Investor Group on Climate Change (IGCC) on why Kyoto credits matter.
NewsCorp’s campaign against Labor climate policy.
Climate change policy history in Australia (ABC).
