Coalition for Open Government 23.7.07

Electoral Finance Bill fails to live up to promise

The Coalition for Open Government is very disappointed with the new Electoral Finance Bill, released today, saying it falls far short of the government's promise to create a more open and incorruptible election system.

Spokesperson Steven Price said the Coalition is particularly alarmed that the bill seems to do nothing to fix the problem of secret donations to political parties. "The current law allows parties to receive huge donations from wealthy donors funnelled through secret trusts, without telling voters where the money's really coming from," he said. "This bill does almost nothing to change that."

The Coalition noted that the government is happy to impose a very tight regime on third parties involved in election activities but doesn't want to apply that regime to political parties.

"If the Exclusive Brethren or Greenpeace want to buy election ads, they can't spend more than $60,000, voters get to know who's giving them more than $500, and anonymous donations are confiscated," said Price.

"But it seems that's too much openness for the political parties themselves There's no cap on how much anyone can give them. They can keep anonymous donations. And it's easy for them to avoid telling us who's giving them anything. They can continue getting money through secret trusts."

"Strong election finance laws are a crucial defence against unseen political influence and corruption of the political system," he added. "This bill doesn't deliver".

However, the Coalition did welcome some other aspects of the bill:

- the comprehensive disclosure and anti-collusion regime for third parties

- the stronger enforcement powers for corrupt and illegal practices

- the expansion of the definition of electoral activities to include electronic campaigning

- the removal of big-party involvement in the broadcasting allocation

the proposal to review other aspects of the law, including the restructuring of electoral agencies and the funding of political parties.

The Coalition believes that the bill's flaws are due to the secretive process used to design it. "Now is the chance for the public to be involved, writing submissions to press for the strongest possible new law," said Price.

ENDS

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