Riding the money-go-round

AS ACCOUNTING firms beef up lobbying efforts, they are also ramping up political donations, often on behalf of clients seeking access or to influence politicians or silence the opposition.

Bligh blasts state's 'Godwin Grech'

QUEENSLAND'S corruption crisis ensnared the Liberal National Party Opposition yesterday, with claims of doctored emails and MPs moonlightingas lobbyists.

Backbenchers Told: Hold Nerve On Emissions

THE Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, has told his backbenchers to hold their nerve over Labor's emissions trading scheme amid internal concerns about its impact on jobs and intense lobbying by interest groups.

Day Off For Show Holiday Receives Council's Blessing

NEWCASTLE'S show holiday has local government backing for 2009, despite lobbying from business quarters to have the day off scrapped.

Battle For Show Day

A TEAM of independent councillors wants Newcastle's show holiday scrapped and is lobbying to end the day off from next year.

Tough Ethics Code Comes Into Force

HOW exactly does Barack Obama plan to keep the jackals of the lobbying industry at bay in a town like Washington where every second person is a lobbyist?

Church Will Seek Justice For Keelong

FIGTREE Anglican Church is lobbying the NSW Government to reverse its decision to close Keelong Juvenile Justice Centre.

A Painful Journey

NEWCASTLE parents of juvenile arthritis sufferers are lobbying John Hunter Hospital to open a clinic for their children.

Union Boss Recruited To Fill Costa's Old Seat

THE man who helped bring down Morris Iemma by helping to defeat electricity privatisation, the Unions NSW boss, John Robertson, will take the former treasurer Michael Costa's upper house seat after frantic lobbying from the Premier, Nathan Rees.

Concern About Centre Noise

NEWCASTLE East residents are lobbying to restrict the use of a new multi-purpose centre at Fort Scratchley.

Report Puts Economy As First Priority

DESPITE intense business lobbying, Professor Ross Garnaut is sticking to his argument that carbon trading should serve economic goals before vested interests.

Galahs In V8s Leave Bird Lovers With Ruffled Feathers

The decision to bring V8 street racing to Homebush Bay is wrong and unfair. The V8 crowd has been lobbying for it because the venue is "under-utilised". For them maybe, but what about everyone else?

The Spot No Place To Finish

I'M thinking of lobbying to change the name of this column. I wish I'd thought of it before the football finals started.

State Hoses Down Pipeline Flames By Granting Firefighters Access

FIRE crews have been granted permission to take water from Victoria's north-south pipeline, in a move that has raised questions about a Labor MP's lobbying.

Warning! Moral Hazard Alert

Would Wall Street's Gordon Gekko be rueful at the turmoil on his turf, or would he be lobbying for part of the $840 billion action, wonder Ruth Williams and Eric Johnston.

Vanstone Defends Visa Decision

FORMER immigration minister Amanda Vanstone says she overturned a deportation order against a suspected Mafia figure because of mental health concerns - not due to donations to the Liberal Party by his supporters or lobbying by Liberal parliamentarians.

Grylls Grills Parties Over $675m

LABOR and the Liberals in Western Australia yesterday intensified lobbying to secure support from the National Party to form a minority government after the state election failed to deliver a clear winner.

Keating Steps In Over Costa

MORRIS IEMMA is being warned that he faces a certain leadership challenge if he does not dump Michael Costa, with the former prime minister Paul Keating lobbying the Premier to appoint a new treasurer in today's reshuffle.

Lobby Group Quiet On Press Restrictions

A LOBBYING firm with strong links to the Prime Minister's office yesterday refused to disclose whether any of its staff knew of China's intention to renege on its promise to allow free media reporting during the Olympic Games.

Tough Love 'vital' For Polluters

BUSINESS has been given a tough love message on climate change: the environment needs more help than you do, so stop lobbying the Government for special treatment.