With only two weeks of parliament remaining, the government must negotiate much-needed transparency reforms to Australia’s political financing laws, anti-corruption NGO Transparency International (TI) Australia has urged.
In a public letter to the government, LNP, Greens and key crossbench MPs, TI Australia has called on parliament to urgently legislate a first round of reforms focused on increasing transparency including:
- lowering the donation disclosure threshold from $16,900 to $1000;
- introducing ‘real-time’ disclosure of donations with more frequent disclosures once a campaign is called;
- requiring that political parties record and report campaign income and expenditure with gender disaggregated information that is published annually by the AEC; and
- committing to establish an independent panel of experts to examine and advise the government on the best model of political finance and expenditure caps, including specific thresholds, that would be legislated in the 48th parliament.
A second round of reforms should focus on broader political finance integrity measures, including:
- implementing fair donation and expenditure caps to prevent an ‘arms race’ in election campaigns while ensuring challenger candidates and minor parties are not disadvantaged;
- strengthening public funding models to reduce reliance on large private donations;
- closing loopholes to the definition of ‘gift’ which currently allow millions in ‘dark money’ to flow to the major parties; and
- introducing stronger enforcement mechanisms to ensure compliance with disclosure and spending rules, including greater powers for the Australian Electoral Commission.
Clancy Moore, CEO of TI Australia made the following comments:
“We support the government’s commitment to transparency and reducing the influence of big money in politics. Though the electoral reforms proposed last year included caps on political donations and expenditure, they lacked consultation and risked favouring the major parties.”
“Lowering the donation disclosure threshold and introducing real-time disclosures are crucial first steps in ensuring that big money doesn’t overshadow the voices of everyday Australians.”
“Australians deserve to know who is funding their politicians and shaping public policy behind closed doors. Without basic transparency, Australians trust in our democracy will continue to decline.”
TI Australia’s recommendations are aligned with the new global Transparency International Standards for Integrity in Political Finance, which outline key principles to mitigate corruption risks and promote fair, transparent, and accountable political financing.
TI Australia urges all parties to support these critical measures and commit to further reforms that will safeguard the integrity of our democratic process.