Not every industry is doing it tough as the coronavirus pandemic takes its toll. It’s been a veritable boon for the country’s lobbyists,who have seen an influx of new clients trying their luck with various state and federal government incentives.
PremierState chairmanMichael Photios,a prominent Liberal Party-aligned lobbyist,even wrote to clients on Sunday telling them his outfit was"on a war footing"and had"expanded our operating hours to a 7 day/7 night platform to meet the increased demand on our services at this challenging time".
Sounds … lucrative.
PremierState,which counts among staff former Liberal MPFiona Scott and ex-Gillard government press secretaryDarrin Barnett,has recently signed on the car dealership industry association and the cinema operators lobby,chaired by former Event Hospitality bossDavid Seargeant.
Then there’s Botany Bay terminal operator DP World,whose facilities sit empty but who continue to pay fees,and ride-sharing app Uber. All four have signed on within the last month,according to the register of lobbyists.
Over at Newgate Australia,run by Sydney Swans directorBrian Tyson,things are similarly positive. The lobby shop,for the record,is now explicitly spruiking COVID-19 support among its suite of services. The most significant new signings,according to the register,is Wesfarmers’ hardware chain Bunnings,followed shortly by its stationery arm Officeworks. Both have lobbied to stay open during the coronavirus pandemic.
In the last month Newgate has also picked upDon Meij's Domino's Pizza as a client,according to the register,as well as car rental outfit Hertz.
Then there’s Cornerstone Group,run by Liberal Party-aligned lobbyistJoe Tannous,which has brought in meal delivery service Menulog as a client. Tannous counts among his operators former Labor leaderSimon Crean andChris Bowen's former chief-of-staffJames Cullen.
"It’s business as usual for a lot of companies,but the government has less bandwidth[to deal with issues] and so some things are on hold,"one lobbyist told CBD on Tuesday."And then there are those clients who haven’t had exposure to government and suddenly,they need to."