Ethical and transparent lobbying of and engagement with elected representatives and Government departments, be they State, Federal or local Council representatives, has a legitimate place in the commercial cycle.

Gaining a better understanding of the workings of Government or Parliament under the guidance of a Political or Government lobbyist that has been engaged in Politics or Government in the past can ultimately assist you to become acquainted with the systems and processes used in Government policy formation.

Being a political lobbyist is largely about providing clear and succinct information to decision makers so that they are better positioned to make informed decisions about matters of public policy.It is about presenting information to elected representatives in a way that they are familiar with and ensuring that answers to inevitable questions have been thoroughly thought through and workshopped.

Perth based Birney Corporate has extensive knowledge of the political process, political parties of all persuasions (both state and federal), the workings of Government and the machinations of Parliament and its committee system in Western Australia and at a federal level.

Is your organization working on a project that is attracting considerable public interest ?

Perhaps a new property development or a mining project that is misunderstood by some sections of the community?

Birney Corporate are experts in creating and positively disseminating public messages and designing entire public campaigns involving a mix of paid advertising, direct public engagement and media reporting.

Are you seeking to engage the local community regarding an impending project or issue ?

Do you genuinely want to consult with and understand the concerns of the local community so that you can better design your project and ensure that you can demonstrate broad localized support ?

Birney Corporate can manage the entire community engagement process including doorknocking campaigns, community leader consultation, focus groups, public polling and organizing & facilitating public meetings.

Project approvals are considerably easier to obtain if you can demonstrate community support and Birney Corporate can strategically assist you to achieve this goal.

The Government tender process is very strict and contains many rules and regulations that must be followed. Birney Corporate can assist you to become familiar with those rules and regulations and we can handle your entire tender process on your behalf from start to finish.

Government asset sales in particular can be controversial matters and it is important that a serious potential bidder has ticked all of the right boxes before submitting a bid.Birney Corporate are able to act for potential purchasers of Government assets and in doing so provide strategic advice relating to the project.

Very often a Parliamentary Committee or the Government itself will call for public submissions on certain policy matters.On occasion a Parliamentary Committee will call certain individuals to give evidence to the committee and this can often be a daunting and difficult task.Birney Corporate are able to draft professional public submissions and we can provide reliable advice to individuals that have been called before a Parliamentary Committee.We can also provide briefings on the issues and matters that each Parliamentary Committee deals with and how this might impact your organization or industry.

Is your organization concerned about impending legislation and its possible effect ? Have you heard that new legislation is coming but you are not exactly sure of its current status ?Are you seeking more information about its content and impact on your organization ?If the answer to any of these questions is yes then Birney Corporate can assist you to answer these questions.

Very often existing legislation can have unintended consequences that were not contemplated at the time of drafting. In other circumstances, existing legislation may have simply passed its used by date and is no longer relevant to current practices, creating undue hardship for you or your organization.Birney Corporate are able to provide professional advice relating to the processes that are necessary to bring about an Amendment Bill being introduced to Parliament or a Government policy change being implemented.

Whether you are running for local Council, State Parliament, Federal Parliament or even seeking a public company board seat, Birney Corporate can design a winning campaign for you.We have designed and road tested a swag of smart and effective campaigning techniques that will set your campaign apart from the competition.Our campaigning techniques are largely based on our Principal Matt Birney’s successful campaign to win the State seat of Kalgoorlie in 2001.Matt won the seat of Kalgoorlie as a Liberal candidate at the 2001 West Australian election with a swing of almost 7 percent. The state wide swing at that election was 7 percent against the Liberal party which was enough to remove the Court Liberal Government from power.Matt was the only Liberal candidate to win a Labor seat at that election and he became the first Liberal member in history ever to win the seat.At the next election Matt increased his margin to almost 10% placing the seat of Kalgoorlie, one of Labor’s oldest seats, amongst the safest Liberal seats in the state at the time.Matt Birney remains the only Liberal member in history ever to win the state seat of Kalgoorlie and his success in that seat is largely credited to his unique and remarkable campaigning techniques.

The Freedom of Information Act allows individuals, companies and organizations to access Government held files and information that relate specifically to them.It is an open and transparent system whereby an organization or individual can obtain copies of documentation (electronic and hard copies) held by Government Departments, Ministerial offices and other Government related bodies that specifically refer to them.The act is wide reaching and can include access to files, emails, file notes, reports, letters, recordings and even informal notes that refer to you or your organization.These can be particularly helpful if you are engaged in any kind of dispute with a Government department.Birney Corporate can manage your “Freedom of Information Request” from identifying the possible Government body that might hold your information, to determining what information they may hold to carefully crafting the request.The crafting of an FOI claim is crucial as it can be read literally by the receiver and any omissions in the original claim may lead to a failure to obtain important information.

Whilst most Government lobbyists efforts are rightly focused at a Ministerial level, it can sometimes be very important to ensure that individual backbench Members of Parliament from all parties are fully briefed on a particular issue.It should be remembered that it is the Party Room / Caucus Room that is the ultimate policy decision maker and a group of uninformed or ill informed backbenchers can often result in a policy not making it through the Party Room or Caucus.Equally, an issue that is presented to the Party Room/Caucus Room and met with general support and recognition from backbenchers’ will very often be adopted as policy.Birney Corporate are able to undertake multiple backbencher briefings on projects and individual issues and this approach is recommended in many circumstances.

If your organization is experiencing a crisis that is somehow connected to Government, Birney Corporate can assist you with timely and strategic advice.If your License to operate is somehow in jeopardy or a recent Government decision has severely impacted you or your organization then Birney Corporate can assist you to urgently raise these matters with elected representatives in a strategic way.

Development approvals can be one of the most contentious and controversial areas of Government.A good lobbyist will ensure that all arguments for and against the development are thoroughly thought through and well workshopped before seeking support from elected members or Government departments.It can be advantageous to adequately demonstrate that any proposed development also has an element of public benefit and support and Birney Corporate can assist in formulating the arguments in this regard.Large projects are often plagued by misinformation which can sometimes filter through to elected members. It is therefore vital that accurate information is provided to decision makers in a timely fashion.Extra large projects will often benefit from multiple backbencher briefings thus ensuring that the majority of elected members have learnt of the benefits first hand from the proponents rather than second hand via the media.

Australian Parliament’s are very complex by nature and involve many and varied tools that are at the disposal of elected members including but not limited to :

• The Committee System that is able to take in depth looks at particular issues
• The Parliamentary Questions on Notice system which requires Ministers to provide direct responses to questions asked (often assisted by their departments)
• The Parliamentary Questions Without Notice system which requires Ministers to answer questions on the floor of the Parliament without notice.
• The Committee stage of a bill which allows for a thorough examination of each individual clause in a proposed piece of legislation
• Short Parliamentary Statements which provide for multiple issues to be raised in Parliament within a short space of time
• Private Members Bills which provide for an ordinary Member of Parliament (a Non-Minister) to introduce his/her own new law
• Matters of Public Importance which allow certain matters to be raised urgently in the Parliament (these are often well covered by the media)
• Private Members Business which provides for general debate on matters that have been raised by individual Members of Parliament.

Birney Corporate are able to provide strategic in depth briefings on the workings of Parliament.

The Government are one of the largest buyers of goods and services in the state yet it is very difficult to know where to start when attempting to sell goods and services to Government.

Birney Corporate have an intimate understanding of Government procurement practices and policies and we are able to guide our clients through the maze of Government red tape in order to secure the Government as a client.

We will assist you with initial introductions and we will work alongside your organization throughout the pitching process.

It is often a good idea to draft a complete Bill before seeking Political or Government support as many issues arise during the drafting process.Birney Corporate can provide professional political and strategic advice whilst managing the drafting of a Bill for you.This Bill can then become the centrepiece of any lobbying effort and if accepted by elected representatives could significantly reduce the amount of time required for implementation.

State, Federal and local Government’s across Australia have earmarked tens of millions of dollars in grants to assist with everything from the funding of a community facility to a multi-million dollar grant for a public or private company seeking to develop specific technology.The problem however with Government grants is that they are generally hard to find and the application process is often onerous and requires a significant amount of hard work and strategic thought.It is often the case that many eligible companies not only do not submit an application but they are actually unaware that the grant exists in the first place.Birney Corporate can manage the entire Government grant process for you from identifying a suitable grant, to writing the application to securing the funds.