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Political Donation Reform

Answer

People who seek public office must be required to conduct transparent and honest campaigns.

If elected as the Independent MP for Casey I pledge to take these policies to Parliament:

  • lower the donation disclosure threshold from $16,300 to a fixed $1,000
  • require real-time disclosure of donations above the disclosure threshold of $1,000 by a recipient within 7 days of the donation threshold being exceeded
  • broaden the definition of a gift (donation) to capture dark money including fundraising dinners, cash for access ‘business forums’ and other events, as well as membership fees. Did you know paying $10,000 to attend a dinner is currently not defined as a donation and is not reported?
  • Introduce a major-donor donation cap to ensure individuals or companies do not have a disproportionate impact on the outcome of elections.
  • Prohibit political donations from entities that inflict social harm for profit, such as tobacco, fossil fuels, gambling and liquor business entities. I have not and will not accept any donations from a gambling, betting or hotel organisation.
  • Prohibit political donations from substantial Commonwealth government contractors and bidders for Commonwealth government contracts.

Kate Chaney's Fair and Transparent Elections Bill aims to reduce financial influence in elections:

  • voters need to know who is supporting each political candidate before they vote
  • Individuals or companies should not be able to have a disproportionate impact on the outcome of elections.

Campaigns cost money and political donations are OK if there are fair and equitable rules which ALL political candidates are required to comply with.

I role model my integrity as a candidate which I will continue to do as a Member of Parliament. Aligned with Kate Chaney's Fair and Transparent Elections Bill, I voluntarily disclose in real-time all cash donations to my campaign on my website, with donors identified by name and donation amount. 

Voters need to know who is supporting each political candidate before they vote. A healthy democracy ensures that factual information is accessible and transparent for all voters to easily find. All political candidates, both endorsed by a political party and those running as Independents, should report in real time donations made to their campaign, by name and donation amount.

The current system is just not good enough. It can take over 18 months for donations to be disclosed, if they are disclosed at all, and the reporting threshold of $16,900 is too high. The annual 1 February  data dump we've just had reminds us of how flawed the current system is.

“Once again, the mass release of political donations data highlights the lack of transparency and integrity in Australian politics,” Bill Browne, Director of the Australia Institute’s Democracy & Accountability Program.