Using examples from an area of Australia public policy that has had significant news coverage during the
course examine and discuss the role played by public affairs practitioners involved in lobbying and
activism in this policy area.
Australian Asylum Policy
Australian government statistics show that between 2012 and 2013 more than 18,000 people arrived in
Australia illegally by sea, compared to 7,300 in 2011 and 2012. The policy and legislation surrounding
refugee policy, aptly named the �Stop the Boats� policy, has caused significant controversy, attracting
both criticism and support in Australian public policy over the last decade. The Asylum Seeker policy
states that;
�These laws and policies have undergone continuing change by successive Governments over the last
decade or more, and many have also been subject to judicial consideration and extensive public inquiry
and review. The result is a system that is complex and difficult to access and understand. Changes have
also occurred that have had an impact on the ability of protection visa applicants to access legal or
migration advice.�
Lobbying and Activism in Public Affairs
Lobbying involves the influence of government decision-making with the aim of protecting
public interests, and it is a common practice in contemporary democratic societies. In most cases,
lobbying helps in improving government decisions and legislation through the provision of
significant data and insight. However, there is also a possibility of lobbying not to achieve these
goals, or to result to unfair advantages in such cases where an improper approach is taken.
It is true to state that “Government officials need lobbyists and vice-versa”. This is because for
any democracy to address fundamental concerns with regards to integrity and accessibility, it is
important to ensure that the concerns of all stakeholders are put into consideration during
decision-making. Accordingly, owing to the important role played by lobbyists in the protection
public interests and development of policy, the government should work closely with these
groups. However, in the Australian context, the government and lobbyists do not cooperate in
public policy development due to their differing ideologies. Whereas the government aims at
maintaining national security by preserving state control over the borders, lobby groups are of
the view that policies which breach human rights are not good.
With regards to the ‘Stop the Boats’ policy and the manner in which Abbott’s Government is
responding to public lobbying surrounding this controversial issue, I believe that the government
is not ensuring integrity by locking out the views and grievances presented by lobby groups. The
government has a mandate of giving proper weight to its human rights obligations (Bailey,
2002), as reflected in the insight given by lobby groups.
Do you think that lobbyists should be held accountable for their actions in controversial policy
areas?
References
Bailey, J. (2002). Australia and asylum-seekers: is a policy of protection in the “national
interest”?
