Public affairs in Australia: Evolving and enhancing corporate performance

• Author: Geoff Allen
• Published date: 01 February 2020
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/pa.2066
• Date: 01 February 2020

COMMENTARY

Public affairs in Australia: Evolving and enhancing corporate

performance

Geoff Allen

Chairman, Australian Centre for Corporate

Public Affairs, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Correspondence

Geoff Allen, Chairman, Australian Centre for

Corporate Public Affairs, 4th Floor, 95 Pitt

Street Sydney 2600, New South Wales,

Australia.

Email: geoff.allen4@icloud.com

This article is an attempt to provide a helicopter view of the influences and

responses that have shaped the corporate public affairs function over four decades

from non-existence to an important and settled profession in Australia's major com-

panies. It reflects the perceptions and experiences of an observer with a background

in public administration, politics, academia, industry association leadership, and con-

sulting to companies and industry organisations over that period. They are further

informed by surveys and other studies conducted by the organisation supporting

public affairs departments, the Australian Centre for Corporate Public Affairs (the

Centre) since its inception in 1990. The article charts the emergence from two dis-

tinct, low level management silos—one supporting communications and the other,

government affairs—to create an integrated strategic management function. The

central story is of waves of innovation in concepts and practices, developed mainly

overseas, being embraced with enthusiasm and becoming a dominant focus, before

settling into the broad toolbox of public affairs. This occurred particularly in the

period 1990–2005 during which the function took its shape. With such a broad and

ambitious sweep, it is inevitable that bold generalisations begging exceptions must

be made.

1|INTRODUCTION

At the time of writing,

1

Australia's economy ranked 14th in the world

by GDP. A number of the world's largest mining companies are

Australian, as are four of the world's 10 largest banks. It has less than

200 companies, including divisions of foreign multinational compa-

nies, with the scale and sophistication to have stand-alone public

affairs departments. These are the companies referred to in this

article.

One company has a public affairs staff of more than 200, and sev-

eral have only three or four, but the modal range is 15 to 25. Estab-

lishments in particular companies have waxed and waned over the

past 30 years as their industries experienced nonmarket pressures.

Through the 1990s mining industry public affairs was most heavily

resourced. More recently, it has been telecommunications, energy,

and finance companies.

A large majority of Australian companies integrate government

relations and public policy activities with their communications and

stakeholder functions. Managed separately in the 1980s, by 2012,

integrated public affairs departments had responsibility for govern-

ment and regulatory affairs, communications and media relations,

stakeholder relations, corporate giving, and corporate brand manage-

ment in around 80% of companies.

2

This integrated structure is the hallmark of Australian public

affairs and is being increasingly championed by companies overseas. It

resulted in part by the need for efficient use of resources given limited

Australian company scale. Most importantly, however, it has been

driven by an appreciation that external nonmarket issues needed to

be managed holistically. The strongly felt rationale is that most non-

market issues have media, reputation, community, staff, regulatory,

and political dimensions feeding off each other and requiring consis-

tent strategic responses.

2|CONDITIONS PRECEDENT

Prior to the 1970s, corporate Australia was held in high regard. Busi-

ness leaders were heroes of post-war WW11 reconstruction. But

Received: 28 November 2019 Accepted: 28 November 2019

DOI: 10.1002/pa.2066

J Public Affairs. 2020;20:e2066. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/pa © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 1of10

https://doi.org/10.1002/pa.2066