October 2026

One of Australia’s greatest sporting heroes, who is now an Independent Senator, has been banned from the Parliamentary Sports Club in Canberra.

Why? Because he raised concerns about the Parliamentary Sports Club being financially backed by wealthy lobbying groups, including the gambling industry.

Senator David Pocock raised an ethical issue and, rather than respond with respect, they kicked him out of the club. The club’s president is Prime Minister Anthony Albanese who I regard as one of the most corrupt politicians to ever lead this country.

David Pocock, by contrast, is a great Australian. He was one of the nation’s great rugby players, who played in 83 Tests for the Wallabies, including some as captain, represented his country in three Rugby World Cups – and played with distinction in the 2015 World Cup grand final against New Zealand.

And now Pocock is one of the nation’s most honourable politicians, an Independent Senator for the ACT since 2022 who campaigns tirelessly on worthy issues, most of them founded in ethics, proper process and a fair go for ordinary Australians.

One of his core issues is lobbying of politicians by big business and vested interest groups, where big money buys influence – including, it seems, the ability to earn billions in this country without paying tax. His campaigning for transparency and ethical processes around lobbying has made him unpopular with the Federal Government and the Prime Minister.

Recently Pocock said in a social media post: “Something most people don’t know is that every morning when Parliament is sitting, Members and Senators from all sides of politics play different sports together early in the morning before Parliament starts.

“It’s a lot of fun, a great way to get to know people and get some exercise in before what can be very long days up in Parliament. It helps build relationships across the political aisle and I think that’s really important for our democracy.”

 Pocock said the sports activities were organised by the Parliamentary Sports Club. But he was shocked to learn that the club takes money from big businesses in return for access to morning sports and, in turn, the politicians and their staff who participate. This included Responsible Wagering Australia which represents the big gambling companies.

 “As a result, the Parliamentary Sports Club has been registered on the lobbying register for many years, something most of us had no idea about,” Pocock said. “What’s even crazier is that the President of the Parliamentary Sports Club is the Prime Minister, which puts him in a very awkward position as he’s effectively the president of the lobbying firm, which I think most Australians would have concerns about.”

Pocock raised his concerns about this, both privately and publicly. He described the result in his social media broadcast: “The club has decided not to tell these lobbyists that they can’t come, not to stop taking money from companies and rather focus on what sport is and can be about here at Parliament, but instead they’ve kicked me out of the club. They’ve told me that I can’t be a member and I’m not welcome to attend fixtures operated by the club.

“I guess it goes to show how normalised the influence of people like the gambling industry has become in this place. When you raise questions about that, rather than dealing with what seems like a big issue to me and a lot of people I speak to, you get booted from the Parliamentary Sports Club.”

 Lobbyist influence unchecked

Senator Pocock has been outspoken about the distortion of government decisions by the influence of lobbyists, who use their big budgets to buy influence in Canberra to achieve favourable government decisions. He has tried to introduce a Bill to change the system.

Pocock said: “From the failure to tax gas exports to weak gambling reforms, the power of vested interests over community interest is corrosive to our democracy. We need to close the revolving door between government and industry and tighten up our lobbying laws.”

The Senator spoke more about this in a recent speech in the Senate:

“Before I was elected, like many Australians, I was deeply frustrated by politics. I was a little perplexed at how powerful voices often seem to win out while ordinary Australians struggled to be heard. When I arrived in Parliament part of the reason became very clear: a system of influence that operates behind closed doors, protected by outdated rules and a lack of transparency.

“Lobbying plays a legitimate and vital role in a democracy – but that role must be open and accountable, not concealed behind legal loopholes and privileged access. They face no obligations to disclose meetings or report their activities. They can be granted a sponsored pass to this building and no one is required to say who they are, who gave them access or for what purposes.

“This isn’t oversight, this is not accountability, it’s a system built for insiders, not the public and we need to and can change that. And that’s why I’ve brought this Bill to the Senate. This Bill would expand the definition of lobbyists, to cover in=house staff, industry associations and consultants engaging with government, legislate a mandatory lobbying code of conduct with real penalties for misconduct.

“In other similar jurisdictions there are civil, sometimes criminal, penalties, as there should be, for breaching privileged access and the rules around that to this building.”

Senator Pocock proposed a range of measures, including a three-year cooling off period before former ministers can take lobbying jobs. He pointed out that since 2001 almost every former Federal Resources Minister has taken up a role in the fossil fuels sector after leaving office – a situation that brings into serious questions the decisions of those Ministers while in government.

He said: “This is unfathomable. The Parliament is becoming out of touch with the Australian people on these issues.”

Other politicians are campaigning on this issue, including The Australian Greens, Independent MP Monique Ryan and the Teal Independents, including MPs Zali Steggall and Allegra Spender.

Lobbyist power results in tax-free profits

The power of lobbyists is one explanation for the mystery of multinational companies earning billions of dollars in Australia but paying little or no tax, while income taxes imposed on ordinary Australians are at a 30-year high. In FY2025, 1149 large companies paid no tax.

Pocock said: “While Aussies are paying the most in personal income tax in decades and being slugged with rising interest rates, new data from the ATO shows that over a thousand of our biggest companies paid no corporate income tax at all in FY2025. Zero.”

 Pocock said foreign-owned gas companies like Kogas and Petronas have paid no tax on $3.6 billion of revenue in FY2025. Japanese company Inpex paid less than 9% corporate income tax and zero in petroleum resource rent tax.

“It’s tax that’s supposed to get us a fair return for our offshore LNG,” he said. “Santos has now failed to pay corporate tax for 11 years running, despite a total income of $51.85 billion in that time. Altogether oil and gas companies did pay $10.6 billion in corporate tax. That’s a lot of money, but they’re clearly not paying for the actual resource that they’re exporting when you look at petroleum resource rent tax. And, for context, teachers and mechanics also pay around $10 billion worth of tax.

“These companies are simply doing what’s best for their shareholders. The Australian Government should be doing what’s best for Australians, getting us a fair return for the sale of a finite resource that belongs to all of us.

“We’re supposed to be the country of a fair go, but this is not a fair go.”