Hawker Britton
Encyclopedia
Hawker Britton is an Australia
n public affairs
and lobbying
firm specialising in government relations, government lobbying and political campaign
s. The firm is closely aligned with the Australian Labor Party
.
According to the Australian Government Federal Lobbyist Register, it is the largest lobbying firm in Australia by number of clients.
The current Managing Director is Justin Di Lollo, a former staffer to Labor leader Kim Beazley
(Chairman) and David Britton. Before starting the company, Bruce Hawker was Chief of Staff to New South Wales Premier Bob Carr
, and Britton was Carr's senior media advisor.
According to the firm's website it employs many former Labor Party staffers, MPs and campaign professionals.
Bruce Hawker has been an election campaign strategist in more than 29 Australian, Federal, State and Territory elections. He has been described as a stalwart of Labor campaigning and South Australian Premier Mike Rann
described Hawker as “the greatest political strategist in Australia”
Following the hung parliament that resulted after the 2010 Australian federal election campaign Hawker led the negotiations with Independents Rob Oakeshott
and Tony Windsor
which later secured the Labor Government a second term.
Hawker Britton’s Communications Director Eamonn Fitzpatrick, played a key role in Labor’s 2007 NSW State election victory, where he oversaw the NSW Government’s strategic communications and media relations.
Director Simon Banks served as former Labor leader Kevin Rudd
’s chief of staff and Federal Labor’s Director of Policy. He managed Labor’s victorious 2007 Kevin07 election campaign.
According to electoral records for the year 2007, Hawker Britton gave $176,648 in political donations to the Australian Labor Party.
Hawker Britton's founders, Bruce Hawker and David Britton, have now both left the company. David Britton left in 2005 to join the Fred Hollows Foundation as its communications director, and Bruce Hawker left in January 2011 to set up a new campaign-focused venture, the Campaigns and Communications Group.
Hawker Britton has been involved in several nationally significant lobbying campaigns. In 2009, Hawker Britton worked with the Australian Publishers Association to defeat proposed changes to territorial copyright rules that would have scrapped import restrictions on books.
According to a submission filed to the Queensland Government in 2009, 17 per cent of Hawker Britton’s clients are engaged on a pro-bono basis.
In December 2010, Peter Khalil, an Associate of Hawker Britton, was identified in a Wikileaks US State Department leak published in the Sydney Morning Herald as a protected US source.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n public affairs
Public administration
Public Administration houses the implementation of government policy and an academic discipline that studies this implementation and that prepares civil servants for this work. As a "field of inquiry with a diverse scope" its "fundamental goal.....
and lobbying
Lobbying
Lobbying is the act of attempting to influence decisions made by officials in the government, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying is done by various people or groups, from private-sector individuals or corporations, fellow legislators or government officials, or...
firm specialising in government relations, government lobbying and political campaign
Political campaign
A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making process within a specific group. In democracies, political campaigns often refer to electoral campaigns, wherein representatives are chosen or referendums are decided...
s. The firm is closely aligned with the Australian Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
.
According to the Australian Government Federal Lobbyist Register, it is the largest lobbying firm in Australia by number of clients.
The current Managing Director is Justin Di Lollo, a former staffer to Labor leader Kim Beazley
Kim Beazley
In the October 1998 election, Labor polled a majority of the two-party vote and received the largest swing to a first-term opposition since 1934. However, due to the uneven nature of the swing, Labor came up eight seats short of making Beazley Prime Minister....
History
Hawker Britton was established in 1997 by Bruce HawkerBruce Hawker
Bruce Hawker is a political commentator and chairman of Campaigns and Communications Group, which he founded in January 2011, and Chief Strategist for the Australian Labor Party having been working in State and Federal Labor politics for over 20 years. He was the former Chairman and founding member...
(Chairman) and David Britton. Before starting the company, Bruce Hawker was Chief of Staff to New South Wales Premier Bob Carr
Bob Carr
Robert John "Bob" Carr , Australian statesman, was Premier of New South Wales from 4 April 1995 to 3 August 2005. He holds the record for the longest continuous service as premier of NSW...
, and Britton was Carr's senior media advisor.
According to the firm's website it employs many former Labor Party staffers, MPs and campaign professionals.
Bruce Hawker has been an election campaign strategist in more than 29 Australian, Federal, State and Territory elections. He has been described as a stalwart of Labor campaigning and South Australian Premier Mike Rann
Mike Rann
Michael David Rann MHA, CNZM , Australian politician, served as the 44th Premier of South Australia. He led the South Australian branch of the Australian Labor Party to minority government at the 2002 election, before attaining a landslide win at the 2006 election...
described Hawker as “the greatest political strategist in Australia”
Following the hung parliament that resulted after the 2010 Australian federal election campaign Hawker led the negotiations with Independents Rob Oakeshott
Rob Oakeshott
Robert James Murray "Rob" Oakeshott is an Australian politician. He is the independent Member of the House of Representatives for the Division of Lyne in New South Wales, which he won in the 2008 by-election following the resignation of former Nationals leader and Howard minister Mark Vaile...
and Tony Windsor
Tony Windsor
Antony Harold Curties "Tony" Windsor , an Australian politician, is an independent member of the House of Representatives since 2001, representing the Division of New England, New South Wales...
which later secured the Labor Government a second term.
Hawker Britton’s Communications Director Eamonn Fitzpatrick, played a key role in Labor’s 2007 NSW State election victory, where he oversaw the NSW Government’s strategic communications and media relations.
Director Simon Banks served as former Labor leader Kevin Rudd
Kevin Rudd
Kevin Michael Rudd is an Australian politician who was the 26th Prime Minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010. He has been Minister for Foreign Affairs since 2010...
’s chief of staff and Federal Labor’s Director of Policy. He managed Labor’s victorious 2007 Kevin07 election campaign.
According to electoral records for the year 2007, Hawker Britton gave $176,648 in political donations to the Australian Labor Party.
Hawker Britton's founders, Bruce Hawker and David Britton, have now both left the company. David Britton left in 2005 to join the Fred Hollows Foundation as its communications director, and Bruce Hawker left in January 2011 to set up a new campaign-focused venture, the Campaigns and Communications Group.
Lobbying Activities
According to the Australian Government Federal Lobbyist Register, Hawker Britton represents the interests of 175 clients, making it the largest lobbying firm in Australia. Clients are in the finance, education, defence, health, IT, retail, energy, and transport sectors.Hawker Britton has been involved in several nationally significant lobbying campaigns. In 2009, Hawker Britton worked with the Australian Publishers Association to defeat proposed changes to territorial copyright rules that would have scrapped import restrictions on books.
According to a submission filed to the Queensland Government in 2009, 17 per cent of Hawker Britton’s clients are engaged on a pro-bono basis.
In December 2010, Peter Khalil, an Associate of Hawker Britton, was identified in a Wikileaks US State Department leak published in the Sydney Morning Herald as a protected US source.