Crossbenchers are calling for an urgent crackdown on political lobbyists as a report emerged that the cabinet minister Michelle Rowland was “wined and dined” by gambling lobbyists on her birthday last year.
The teal MP and member for Kooyong, Monique Ryan, introduced a private member’s bill on Monday morning to “clean up politics” by enforcing stronger rules and more transparency around lobbying, as well as making ministers’ diaries publicly available.
The Australian Financial Review reported on Monday that Rowland, the communications minister whose portfolio covers gambling laws, was taken to a lunch by gambling lobbyists at one of Melbourne’s top restaurants on her birthday last November.
The lunch, which was held in the private dining rooms of Society restaurant and hosted by Responsible Wagering Australia was labelled a “policy briefing”, the AFR reported. Responsible Wagering Australia are lobbyists representing Sportsbet, Ladbrokes and Bet365.
A spokesperson for the minister said Rowland “complies with all relevant guidelines for both declarations and travel”, adding the Albanese government “takes its responsibility to minimise gambling harms very seriously”.
Before introducing her bill on Monday, Ryan said she did not think the lunch passed the “sniff test”.
Ryan also said her bill, if passed, would have stopped the lunch from happening.
“Michelle Rowland has said no rules were broken when gambling lobbyists took her out for a lavish birthday lunch. She was right. That’s exactly the problem: our current lobbying rules are toothless and ineffective,” Ryan said in a statement.
“If Michelle Rowland wants to hear from gambling lobbyists, she should just meet with them in her office, not be wined and dined by them. Under my #CleanUpPoliticsAct, not only would this sort of gift-giving be banned, we also would have known about this meeting almost a year ago when it would have been publicly revealed in her ministerial diary for everyone to scrutinise.”
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Earlier in the day, the Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young accused the federal government of “dragging its feet” on gambling reforms, adding Rowland’s birthday lunch was “not a good look”.
A parliamentary inquiry into gambling advertising handed down its report in June, recommending advertising for online gambling be banned within three years.
It suggest a phased, comprehensive ban, including prohibiting advertising during – and an hour either side of – sports broadcasts.
Hanson-Young said it was Rowland’s job to hold the gambling industry to account.
“This is the minister who is responsible for regulating this industry. It’s not a good look and she knows it.”