Australian government business relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Australian government business relations - Essay Example An interest group, also known as a 'Lobby Group', 'advocacy group', 'pressure group' or 'special interest-group', is a group of supporters that are trying to control, give confidence or prevent changes in civic policy without being designated to administrative centers, often in the cause of businesses (The Minerals Council of Australia) or political affairs (Australian Refugee Lobby) (Fitzgerald, 2006). In Australia, the earliest populist and highly-influential interest group initially appeared in 1905 with the 'Australian National Defence League', latterly pursued by 'The Universal Service League' in 1915, (Mark Hearn, 8th July 2003) which grouped the administration to set up staffing and necessary armed services. The concept of an "interest" group dates from Thrasymachus's assertion in the Republic of Plato that "justice is nothing else than the interest of the stronger." (Helpman 2001) Throughout much of this discourse, Socrates and Thrasymachus discuss the proposal of interest. T hey locate interest hard to describe because it would come out that every person may have both self-centeredness and a communal interest, which might cause disagreement. They argue that each profession has its own interest, which is the "excellence" of that profession (Grossman and Helpman 2001). These groups play an optimistic role owing to ... Long before any bill reaches the assemblies for its primary reading the interest groups will probably have to mark it with their operation in the justification of, or development of the interests of the businesses or group that they stand for. Australia has hundreds of interest groups actively operating both in central and state political affairs. In Canberra only there are more than 150 interest groups and dedicated group mentors. The business is closely coupled with political information, and frequently "retired" government bureaucrats will get service with interest groups as 'consultants' and work for the betterment of society. The Industry has a profits of more than one billion Australian dollars (Julian Fitzgerald, 2006. p12) making it a money-spinning professional choice, as can be perceived in the cases of previous Premier Bob Carr (Fitzgerald, 2006). Total Interest Groups Spending in Australia 1998 $1.45 Billion 1999 $1.45 Billion 2000 $1.57 Billion 2001 $1.63 Billion 2002 $1.83 Billion 2003 $2.06 Billion 2004 $2.19 Billion 2005 $2.42 Billion 2006 $2.54 Billion (Australia, total lobbying spending, 2006, online) As Fels, Dean of The Australian School of administration once declared: "There isn't anything erroneous with 'interest groups' per se. It is a justifiable part of a healthy democratic system and society" (online). This is the directing illumination of the existing commonwealth Australian regime. Since 1996, twenty five per cent of two hundred former workers of the Howard administration have turned out to be 'lobbyists' or members of interest groups. One hundred previous personnel of the Hawke/Keating administrations are also soundly mended with