The Transparency Project
Australian politics

Murray Cranston joined Philip Morris as a manager of ‘federal government affairs’ in its external affairs team

A former senior adviser to Tony Abbott is working as an in-house lobbyist for the tobacco giant Philip Morris, but flaws with the lobbying rules mean he is invisible to the oversight regime covering federal parliament.
Murray Cranston was a long-time adviser to Abbott, including during the Liberal MP’s time as health minister and opposition leader, and in the lead-up to his successful 2013 election campaign.
Since leaving Abbott’s office, Cranston has joined Philip Morris International as a manager of “federal government affairs” in the company’s external affairs team. The external affairs team engages with government officials and others on behalf of the multinational.

Tony Abbott
The former Liberal prime minister Tony Abbott. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

Philip Morris is currently lobbying on Australia’s restrictions on vaping, an area it sees as crucial to its future revenue growth.
But Cranston – through no fault of his own – is hidden to the lobbying regime overseeing federal parliament. He is not listed on the federal register of lobbyists, the public’s only window into the world of lobbying.
That’s because Australia’s lobbying rules do not cover individuals who work directly for a company like Philip Morris as in-house lobbyists. They only cover third-party or consultant lobbyists, who work for a professional lobbying firm and are engaged by another company to act on its behalf.
Cranston does, however, appear on a publicly accessible register of government affairs directors kept by the Victorian state government. The Victorian register is an attempt by the state government to provide transparency on the actions of in-house lobbyists.
Philip Morris declined to make a statement about Cranston. There is no suggestion that Cranston has acted improperly or unethically, or sought to hide himself deliberately in any way. He has simply followed the rules that are currently in place to govern lobbying at the federal level.
Philip Morris said earlier this week it was not required to place itself on the federal register.