Markstone in the news
11 August, 2009
Markstone Group Director Terry Cuddy has never hidden the fact he is a long time member of the Australian Labor Party. But in his work as a recognised and successful Government Relations adviser, where he uses decades of experience to assist clients understand the process, and prepare, to meet with government representatives, does this make him a lobbyist?
An article in the The Sunday Age on 9 August named Markstone Group among the ‘winners’ of recent state government contracts, namely for our work with KDR, the new Melbourne tram operator.
While we applaud the publicity over our client’s recent win, Terry repeated the message that this company’s work is not lobbying, merely a case of knowing the political landscape, policies and systems, and where the people we elect fit in. Despite this, the words lobby and lobbyist were regulary used.
It should be noted that Markstone Group were long time advocates for a lobby register and have been members on the national register since this was introduced in 2008. Terry believes everyone working in the field of advising clients on political processes should be accredited so that there is clear understanding about the services the provide, in an attempt to eradicate the dirty ‘lobbying’ word which the media is firm to hold on to.
Further, Markstone Group has never been paid for work directly by the Federal or State Government and does not tender for government contracts.
Read The Sunday Age report below.
SUNDAY REPORT LABOR BEHIND CLOSED DOORS
In the murky world of lobbying, mateship is king
With $13.5bn of tenders up for grabs, calls are growing for a register of lobbyists, reports Melissa Fyfe.
TERRY Cuddy insists it was not lobbying. His work for the winning bidders to run Melbourne’s tram network was, he says, ‘‘purely around understanding government — who’s who in the zoo, the role of different ministers’’.
Lobbying directly, he says, will ‘‘get you caught out very, very quickly’’. Many of his colleagues in Melbourne’s thriving lobbying community say the same thing. Their work on multibillion-dollar tenders is ‘‘low-level political advice’’ or the ‘‘provision of information’’.
But in the fallout from Queensland’s lobbying scandal, which again exposed the Labor mates culture in that state, it is difficult forMelbourne lobbyists to escape the criticism that they, too, are Labor mates.
That, after all, is what they are paid for. Mr Cuddy, for example, is familiar with the ‘‘zoo’’ because he is a long-termLabor Party member, former federal staffer and a man who admits to having ‘‘friends’’ in the Victorian Government, although he declines to identify them.
Mr Cuddy is among many Laborlinked lobbyists who have been working on some of the biggest public infrastructure tenders in Victoria’s history. This year, $13.5 billion of lucrative tenders have been on offer, from the right to run and build the desalination plant, to the contracts for the city’s rail and tram networks.
Last week it emerged that a team of high-powered lobbyists with deep reach inside the VictorianGovernment were behind AquaSure, the winning bid for the $3.5 billion desalination tender. This team included former Cain and Kirner government minister David White; Danny Pearson, his colleague at lobbying firmHawker Britton and a former adviser to Steve Bracks; and Philip Staindl, who heads Labor’s fund-raising arm, Progressive Business. AquaSure also retained a former state Liberal Party director, John Ridley, but he says he was only advising on community relations.
And the winners were not the only ones using the Labor network.
BassWater, the losing bidder, used former federal Labor member forMcMillan Christian Zahra, who is theMelbourne-based director of lobbying firmGovernment Relations Australia.
Those who defend lobbyists say this proves they make no real difference to the outcome, that they are only useful in refining the political angle of bids.
But the transport tenders tell a different story. The two incumbents, Connex (Veolia) and Yarra Trams, used no external lobbyists. Connex says it used communications and lobbying firmCPR— which is headed inMelbourne by former Labor staffer BrettMiller— for advice on government and media relations but not for lobbying. Yarra Trams’ chief executive officer, Dennis Cliche, said the company relied on its track record, experienced staff and strong links with customers and community. ‘‘For this reason,’’ Mr Cliche said, ‘‘[Yarra Trams] did not deem it necessary to hire lobbyists.’’
His competitors thought otherwise, with KDR, a partnership between French company Keolis and Downer EDI Rail, hiring Mr Cuddy and his firm, the Markstone Group. (The Sunday Age was unable to confirmifMr Cuddy was also used for KDR’s tilt at the train deal.)
Meanwhile, Metro Trains Melbourne, challenging Connex for the train contract— worth about $8 billion over 10 years— hired the Enhance Group, the firmat the heart of theQueensland lobbying scandal. In Victoria, the company is led by TimFawcett, a former adviser to Labor heavyweights Simon Crean andGareth Evans and vicepresident of Progressive Business.
Unlike Canberra, Queensland andNSW, Victoria does not have a register that lists active lobbyists and their clients.
The Opposition yesterday called for Victoria to introduce a register of lobbyists which would record all contact between them and ministers, ministerial advisers and public servants.
It is also seeking a ban on ‘‘success fees’’, payments made by companies to lobbyists after the successful signing of a government contract.
Labor promised a register in 2006 and Premier John Brumby says it is under consideration.
The question for Victoria, following Queensland Premier Anna Bligh’s call for a crackdown on lobbyists, is what power do Labor mates have over who gets to run key pieces of the state’s public infrastructure? Mr Brumby and his ministers say lobbyists have little sway over such decisions as all big tenders are run with strict probity checks and bidders and their consultants are not allowed to lobby ministers, their staff or bureaucrats.
A private sector source familiar with infrastructure tenders agreed: ‘‘The Premier and the ministers don’t actually knowthat much during the tender process. They don’t have that much control, which is why lobbyists don’t actually have much influence over the outcome.’’
Lobbyists say they simply provide advice about the political landscape. Sources in the desalination bids point to the politics of the electricity supply for the plant. A community group wanted the powerlines underground. It managed to sway the local MP, then senior members of the BrumbyGovernment. Despite resistance from the Department of Sustainability and Environment, the political leaders had changed their minds. That information is valuable to bidders.
The issue with lobbyists, however, is that they are paid for their personal relationships with government, and personal relationships, by their nature, tend not to be transparent. Several years ago, when railing against David White’s gaming industry lobbying, problem gambling campaigner Tim Costello reminded Bracks government ministers that power works ‘‘through conversations and relationships’’.
It is impossible for probity auditors to police the Labor mates network because they cannot eavesdrop on private conversations. ‘‘They can’t have you under surveillance,’’ said a member of a recent bid team. ‘‘They don’t knowwhat you are doing and they certainly couldn’t control theHawker Brittons of this world.’’
This source said that since the controversy over Mr White’s lobbying for Tattersall’s during the Bracks government gaming licences review, Mr White and Mr Pearson would ‘‘have to take more precautions; they would be using intermediaries now’’.
Mr White told The Sunday Age that during his work for AquaSure: ‘‘Neither Danny nor I, or anyone acting on our behalf, spoke to a minister, ministerial adviser or public servant. In relation to [success fees], we don’t disclose the details of any commercial arrangements.’’
One private sector source said a Labor mates network kicks in after a tender is awarded. ‘‘When you win these jobs the Government thinks you owe them,’’ the source said. ‘‘It expects you to hire its press secretaries, advisers and former politicians. They want you to warehouse their apparatchiks.’’
