MPs granting powerful political lobbyists unfettered access to Australia’s parliament, data reveals

Labor and Coalition members sponsoring resource companies and lobby group representing online gambling giants

Labor and Coalition MPs are facilitating permanent access to Parliament House for the country’s biggest resources companies and the lobby group representing online gambling giants, new data has revealed.

Updated rules about access passes to parliament’s private offices require MPs who sponsor lobbyists and other private interests to be disclosed on a public register. However, Tuesday’s first release of data provided very limited detail, with a backlog of more than 1,000 applications yet to be processed.

Woodside Energy, Australia’s largest fossil fuel company, has three access cards, sponsored by Labor politicians Meryl Swanson, Glenn Sterle and Tracey Roberts, as well as Coalition MPs Melissa Price, Rick Wilson and Susan McDonald.