In a move that will shock absolutely no one who has ever wondered why the corridors of power smell faintly of expensive cologne and desperation, Australia's Parliament House is finally getting around to naming the lobbyists who roam its halls with all the unearned confidence of a tech bro at a climate summit. From now on, the political hired guns with unfettered access - and the MPs who sponsor their golden tickets - will be publicly listed in an online register. Yes, folks, transparency is coming to the pass system, and it's about as overdue as a public apology from a certain former prime minister.

The new rules, detailed in a letter to federal parliamentarians on Thursday and seen by Guardian Australia, require two MPs to sign for a lobbyist to get a pass, with the primary sponsor taking responsibility for their charge's behavior. There will also be fees for lobbyist and commercial passes, because nothing says 'we take this seriously' like a nominal charge that will be expensed by someone's corporation within the hour.

Previously, the public had no idea who sponsored a lobbyist pass or how many passes an MP had handed out like candy at a parade. As of mid-2024, there were over 2,050 sponsored passes for access to Parliament House, though the exact number held by paid lobbyists remains a mystery - a mystery that, until now, was apparently more protected than the recipe for Coca-Cola.

The review, conducted by House Speaker Milton Dick and Senate President Sue Lines, was prompted by a March letter from the Prime Minister suggesting greater 'transparency and rigour' - a phrase that, in political terms, translates to 'we're doing something so stop asking.' In their letter, Dick and Lines expressed their commitment to 'maintaining the democratic openness of Parliament House,' which is a bit like saying you're committed to the democratic openness of a VIP nightclub.

Under the new system, political lobbyists will keep their orange passes, while commercial representatives and advocacy/community groups get light blue passes. The online register will include the names of organisations and sponsoring MPs, but for non-lobbyist passes, not the names of individual passholders - because why let the public know exactly who's whispering in whose ear when you can just point at a group and say 'they're all the same'?

Access passes for former parliamentarians from state and territory legislatures will now be restricted to former premiers, chief ministers, and ministers - because apparently, being a former MP from a minor party isn't enough of a credential to wander around unsupervised.

Orange pass holders currently enjoy unescorted access to non-public areas, meaning they can roam freely through the corridors of MPs' offices, presumably to deliver 'friendly reminders' about campaign donations. Under the new rules, sponsored pass holders will lose weekend access and the privilege of being in the building between 11pm and 5am - because that's when the real work happens, apparently, and they can't be trusted with it. Sanctions for noncompliance are also being introduced, though the specifics remain as vague as a politician's promise.

These changes come after a campaign from independents, including ACT Senator David Pocock, who last year created his own public register. Pocock called Thursday's overhaul a 'huge win' for lobbying reform advocates, adding that 'publishing more information about who has privileged access to parliament house and who gave it to them is a huge win for community and crossbench advocacy on lobbying reform.' He also noted that alignment is still needed between rules for in-house and external lobbyists, as well as systems for publishing ministerial diaries or disclosing lobbyist meetings - because of course there's more to do.

Greens Senator Steph Hodgins-May welcomed the move as a step towards the transparency people expect, but ominously added, 'But the halls of parliament aren’t the only place where corporate capture happens … There are lobby groups that should be barred completely.' So, baby steps, Australia. Baby steps towards a government that might one day be as transparent as a glass house, rather than a smoke-filled room.