Secret Lobbyists Have The Premier's Ear

Sydney Morning Herald

Tuesday November 6, 2007

Andrew Clennell State Political Editor

TWO lobbyists with close connections to the controversial former senator Graham Richardson - including one who was once drawn into the Offset Alpine affair - are in regular close contact with the Premier, Morris Iemma, and do not have to disclose whether they are lobbying him, under present rules.

Peter Barron, who Morris Iemma describes as a media adviser, is understood to talk to the Premier regularly about what lines Mr Iemma will deliver.

Mr Barron has given a "no comment" to the Herald when asked if he ever lobbied for the introduction of Betfair on behalf of PBL, after the Herald revealed the Government was considering allowing the global online betting agency to operate in NSW.

The Premier admitted that Mr Barron had spoken to him about Betfair in the past few months in relation to "media commentary".

David Tierney, a close friend of the Premier who used to work with him for Mr Richardson, was convicted of contempt of court this year for giving the Government documents about Luna Park on behalf of his client, Multiplex. Mr Tierney was lobbying the then sports and recreation minister Sandra Nori about a proposed development at Luna Park.

Mr Iemma refused to say yesterday if Mr Tierney had ever spoken to him about Luna Park. But Mr Iemma's office said that Mr Tierney began lobbying Ms Nori about Luna Park before Mr Iemma became premier in August 2005.

The lack of transparency covering lobbyists working in NSW was on display again yesterday when the Premier refused to answer questions about where and when he met James Packer over the bid to establish Betfair, other than their first meeting at a dinner in 2005 at Mr Packer's house where Mr Richardson was present.

"He answered questions relating to Mr Packer and Betfair last week, at two separate press conferences," a spokesman for the Premier, Glenn Byres, said.

But at neither press conference would Mr Iemma say where or when the meetings took place.

The ABC's Stateline revealed last week the new guidelines introduced by the Premier's department for lobbyists in the wake of the Orange Grove affair state that ministers who were lobbied should "consider keeping records of meetings with lobbyists".

Only a voluntary register of lobbyists exists at Parliament and neither Mr Barron nor Mr Tierney are on it. The West Australian Government recently introduced a compulsory register in the wake of the Brian Burke affair.

The Greens MP Lee Rhiannon yesterday called for a register of lobbyists to be established where lobbyists and the government had to declare their meetings.

Mr Barron, a close friend of Mr Richardson, was drawn into the Offset Alpine affair when he admitted receiving a $30,000 payment from a Swiss bank account from Mr Richardson he described as a gift.

After the 1998 payment was revealed in 2003, Mr Barron told The Australian: "The friendship was such that the idea of him sending me money was not exceptional, $30,000, that was probably only 10,000 pounds."

Mr Barron was also the subject of a report in The Daily Telegraph in 2004 in which it was speculated that he was the mysterious P. Baron who had a room permanently on hire at the Sheraton on the Park hotel, believed to be used by Kerry Packer.

Mr Barron would not comment yesterday on the Sheraton on the Park booking or the cash payment from Mr Richardson.

The Premier yesterday ruled out speculation that he was about to dump the Gaming and Racing Minister, Graham West, in the wake of Mr West admitting to a budget estimates committee that Mr Iemma had personally asked him to look at the Betfair issue.

© 2007 Sydney Morning Herald

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