Lobbyland: ten lobbyists for every MP has democracy on life support

Forty years of neoliberal and neoconservative dominance of mainstream politics have just about destroyed the ability of citizens to hold the powerful to account.

As noted by academic George Rennie, ‘[Australian] law makes it almost impossible to prosecute corruption, owing to difficulties with investigation, evidentiary rules and the burden of proof.’

For evidence one has only to look at the increasing frequency of political scandals relating to poor governance, conflicts of interest, maladministration and corruption within state and federal Coalition. Yet Coalition MPs no longer feel any obligation to explain or even excuse behaviour involving unethical or illegal activities.

​A handful of recent scandals

Here is just a handful…