The Fight for Political Transparency: Fixing Australia’s Lobbying Rules with Dr. Catherine Williams

About this episode

In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Catherine Williams, Executive Director of the Centre for Public Integrity, to unpack the state of political lobbying and democratic accountability in Australia. We discuss the crucial differences between third-party and in-house corporate lobbyists, the ethical dilemmas of "success fees," and the urgent need to extend the cooling-off period to stop the "revolving door" of politicians moving straight into industry roles. Dr. Williams also sheds light on Australia's declining public trust and the ongoing battle over Freedom of Information (FOI) laws and transparency. The Center for Public Integrity David's pass disclosure website