Can Rudd live up to high standards?
KEVIN Rudd’s code of conduct, released after an unexpectedly prolonged gestation, is a useful first step to improving ministerial standards. Rudd has beefed up the code in several respects. There will be a register of lobbyists. Former ministers can’t lobby for a period. Electoral fund-raising at the PM’s homes will become a no-no. And ministers are told to put their shareholdings in broad super or trust funds. The lobbyists’ register revives a practice introduced by the former Labor government and then dropped by Howard’s. A tribe of lobbyists tries to influence government and are paid large amounts by companies to attempt to sway decisions. The register will shed a little more light on who’s who in the zoo, which will assist scrutiny. But that scrutiny will still be limited. Lobbyists will be required to register before seeking access to ministers or their offices but they won’t have to register particular contacts or clients. So following the influence trail will still be a struggle
