22 August 2025

Transparency International Australia (TIA) provides the latest prompt for the need to reform not just Tasmania’s lobbying regulations but also the Integrity Commission.

As the Mercury’s editorial (22 August) said, “Tasmania’s weak system of integrity is not a bug in our political culture; it is one of its defining features.”  The TIA report that rated each Australian jurisdiction’s lobbying regulations. Tasmania was third last with a score of 25 out of 100. Queensland was the best with 75.

The lax lobbying regulations are an example of poor governance that the TIA says increases the chances of corruption and undue influence. The blame for the result cannot by wholly laid at the Integrity Commission’s door.

After two years of consultation with stakeholders, that included the three main political parties, a new code for lobbyists was scheduled to start on 1 January  this year and then on 1 July. But both times the major parties at the last minute raised concerns about it. The Integrity Commission has appealed to the parliament to create a model that stakeholders support.

It should be a high priority of the new parliament because one of the fundamentals of democracy are strong ethical, transparent and accountable processes. Revisiting the Integrity Commission’s code and the 2016 report by former Supreme Court Justice, William Cox, would be a good place to start.