Dr Stepanov’s office is responsible for maintaining the register and also tasked with advising MPs,ministers and senior officials about ethics or integrity issues. The independent review,by former bureaucrat Kevin Yearbury,follows recent concerns raised by the Commissioner about a “significant increase” in lobbying activity,lack of transparency and “sustained workload”.
Her office also gained attention last month after Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk was forced to deny involvement in what wasdescribed by the LNP opposition as a “raid” by the Public Service Commission,after Dr Stepanov reportedly raised concerns about interference from the body.
In the latest annual report,Dr Stepanov said the recorded lobbying activity alone overseen by her office of just a handful of staff had risen from an average of 239 recorded contacts a year between 2010 and 2019to 988 reported contacts in the past financial year.
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“The resources within the Integrity Commissioner’s office have been insufficient to meet this growing demand,” Mr Yearbury wrote.
He found the Commissioner had no power to deal with unregistered lobbying,or activity by those whose registration had been cancelled,and recommended this be made an offence to deter wrongdoing.
While the cost of setting up capacity for the office to investigate matters would create overlaps with the Crime and Corruption Commission,Mr Yearbury recommended Dr Stepanov be able to refer issues to the watchdog,which has flagged a focus on the corruption risk posed by interactions between lobbyists and the government.