Don't demonise lobbyists: Santoro

IN DEFENCE: Lobbyist and Liberal powerbroker Santo Santoro says lobbyists are important in the political process. Picture: Gary Ramage Source: The Courier-Mail

POLITICAL party executives and trade unions should be made to register their lobbying activities to achieve true accountability, according to Liberal powerbroker Santo Santoro.

Mr Santoro, whose lobbying activities with Minister Ros Bates and her office have made headlines in recent weeks, has come out in defence of his industry after what he described as attempts to demonise it.

The former Liberal Senator said while registered lobbyists were required under law to declare their activities and who they represent, others were flying under the radar.

``There is quite a strong case to consider the registration of lobbying activities by trade unions, employer organisations and indeed office bearers of political parties,'' Mr Santoro said.

``People who undertake this position of lobbying ministers the way registered lobbyists do should have to declare their interest and be subject to the same level of scrutiny as officially registered lobbyists.''

 Mr Santoro said trade unions, large corporations and advocacy groups often proved the most powerful lobbyists of all.

He said he had nothing to fear from the public release of ministerial diaries planned by the Newman Government in coming months with Premier Campbell Newman's diary due to be uploaded this week.

 ``One of the reasons why people know my activities is because ministers have complied (with the declaration requirements),'' he said.

But he lashed out at the State Opposition for trying to paint him as a lobbyist ``bogeyman'' saying he had done nothing wrong.

``Obviously the opposition is intent on creating bogeymen and I am an easy target or so they think,'' Mr Santoro said.

``But the opposition has not been able to uncover any wrongdoing by me and they will uncover no wrongdoing because there has been no wrongdoing.

``There is no doubt that for political reasons there are attempts to demonise lobbyists at an unprecedented rate and level to what we have experienced to date.''

Mr Santoro said he believed his profession played a vital role and it was no different to ``a family lawyer knowing the ropes of the family court, or a pharmacist knowing what drugs to prescribe and the risks associated with them''.

``Obama, for the first few weeks of his government tried to ban lobbyists in Washington from seeing members of the administration and practically the whole of government ground to a halt,'' he said.

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