The amount of donations to political parties would no longer be shrouded in secrecy, donations would be disclosed monthly and spending caps would be introduced under Labor’s proposed changes to reform of Tasmania’s lax electoral laws.
Shadow Attorney-General Ella Haddad said Labor’s submission on the Electoral Disclosure and Funding Bill contained important amendments, including:
- Lowering the disclosure threshold for political donations from the government’s suggested $5,000 to $1,000
- Introducing spending caps for candidates and parties for House of Assembly elections
- Reducing the timeframe for disclosure of donations outside of an election period from the Bill’s suggested six months to one month
- Keeping donation disclosures publicly available for at least the full period of a Parliamentary term, rather than the currently proposed six months
Ms Haddad said Labor had already put significant pressure on the Liberal Government to reach this stage where a draft Bill has now been released, but it needed to go further to address Tasmania’s political donation laws which are the weakest in the nation.
“We welcome the fact that the government has released this draft legislation but there are vast differences between Tasmania and the rest of the country in this crucial area and that has led to unhealthy election spending in the past and a true lack of a level playing field,” Ms Haddad said.
“Labor’s significant, important amendments need to be addressed before this Bill reaches the floor of the Parliament. We need to make a genuine effort to restore public confidence in the political process in this state.
“In particular, there must be spending caps on how much candidates, parties and third party campaigners can spend on House of Assembly election campaigns.
“Running for Parliament should be a right available to anyone who aspires to office.
“It should not be the domain of only those who can afford to run a campaign and, unlike the independent Member for Clark Kristie Johnston, Tasmanians want the Parliament to be made up of people who have the best ideas and not the deepest pockets.
“Elections should be a battle of ideas, not a battle of bank accounts.
“The disclosure threshold for political donations must also be lowered to $1,000 – the current disclosure level of $5,000 is far too high and Tasmania needs to be in step more closely with community expectations and transparency.
“Right now, there are no spending caps and no requirements whatsoever for candidates to report on what they spend, or to disclose the donations they receive and who they receive them from.”
Ella Haddad MP
Shadow Attorney-General
