Pervasive, unregulated lobbying of the Queensland Labor government must be probed by a commission of inquiry, the Liberal National Party says.
A review ordered by Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has found government lobbying to be widespread, escalating and lacking proper transparency and regulation.
Review head Peter Coaldrake's interim report said witnesses are concerned about unnamed ministers and senior public servants skirting accountability, and an overreach of unqualified ministerial staffers.
LNP Leader David Crisafulli says there must be a formal commission of inquiry into government integrity to restore confidence in the system.
"It would be the way that it (the government) could throw open the door and show the way that government is run, but it is doing everything in its power to avoid that," Mr Crisafulli said on Friday.
There were 988 recorded meetings between lobbyists and government ministers in 2020/21, four times the average annual amount over the previous nine years.
However, the report said lobbying contacts may actually be fives times higher than the figure recorded.
Prof Coaldrake said that's because individuals who aren't legally defined as "lobbyists", such as lawyers or consultants, don't have to declare when they are lobbying ministers.
"What we can therefore be clear about is that the lobbyist register is not doing the job which was intended," the interim report said.
Despite success fees for registered lobbyists being illegal, the review heard of at least one case where a consultant received such a kickback.
Prof Coaldrake also raised concerns about the activities of Labor-aligned lobbying firm Anacta Strategies.
He said Anacta had worked for clients to influence the government before working on Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk's re-election campaign in 2020.
"This can leave the public sceptical about even the strongest protections against conflict," Prof Coaldrake wrote.
The report warned escalating lobbying can potentially undermine the ability of the government to meet community needs.
It said lobbying was legitimate, but only if its purpose and frequency was publicly disclosed by politicians whenever possible.
"At the end of the day, the responsibility lies with the Minister," the report said.
During the review public servants revealed they had been told by seniors how to "channel" information to ministers.
In some cases senior bureaucrats told staff to "sanitise" advice or alter it to align with what was presumed to be a minister's position.
The report said a director-general has even taken steps to prevent a report from "reaching the minister's ears" so the minister can deny knowing about it, Prof Coaldrake wrote.
Public servants weren't necessarily acting under pressure from ministers or their staffers, he said, but taking it upon themselves to protect ministers.
"The effect is to have a public service whose motivations are partly informed by a self-imposed obligation to 'protect' the Minister, which is at variance with its proper practice," Prof Coaldrake wrote.
Public servants also raised concerns about the overreach of ministerial staffers.
Prof Coaldrake said in some cases staffers, many of whom have no experience outside university politics, have directed public servants as if they were ministers.
Queensland has a ministerial code of conduct, but Prof Coaldrake said awareness and observance of the code was uneven.
"This review in its next phase will be considering what steps, if any, are needed to ensure that the Code has teeth and is observed," he wrote.
