Preliminary Pages
During this inquiry the
committee reviewed the Australian Electoral Commission’s (AEC) analysis of the
Fair Work Australia (FWA) report on the Health Services Union National Office.
The committee’s focus was on disclosure obligations under the Commonwealth
Electoral Act 1918 (Electoral Act). It was not the committee’s role to
forensically examine internal HSU authorisation processes, or to adjudicate on
alleged contraventions against the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act or
other alleged fraudulent behaviour. A number of other processes are
underway to address those matters.
The Special Minister of
State also referred a list of 17 possible measures provided by the AEC for
consideration. A number of the issues raised in the measures have previously
been examined and recommendations made by the committee.
In this report the
committee makes 13 recommendations to improve Australia’s disclosure
arrangements. As it has done in previous reports, the committee made
recommendations to:
n
reduce the disclosure threshold from more than $12 100 for
the 2012-2013 financial year (i.e. $10 000 with CPI indexation) to
$1 000 and remove CPI indexation;
n
introduce administrative penalties for more straightforward
breaches of the Electoral Act, such as a failure to lodge a return by the due
date;
n
clarify the definition of an ‘associated entity’ to address some
of the current confusion surrounding the application of the term;
n
strengthen the penalties for more serious offences under the
Electoral Act, including fraud related offences; and
n
increase the frequency of disclosure reporting from annually to
six-monthly.
In addition, the
committee has made recommendations to:
n
require returns to be lodged electronically to improve the
timeliness and efficiency of lodging and processing returns;
n
require that records relevant to disclosure be kept for seven
years rather than the current three years;
n
insert a new offence in the Electoral Act for failing to create
the records needed to enable complete and accurate disclosure;
n
extend the disclosure period for new candidates to 12 months
prior to their pre-selection or nomination, whichever is earlier;
n
clarify, and where needed strengthen, the AEC’s coercive powers;
n
expand the categories of ‘electoral expenditure’ to cover additional
relevant items including campaign staff, premises, office equipment, vehicles
and travel;
n
deem registered political parties to be bodies corporate for the
purposes of Part XX of the Electoral Act; and
n
provide greater clarity of who in an organisation has
responsibility for ensuring that the required returns are lodged with the AEC.
Recommendation 12 to
deem registered political parties as bodies corporate is a significant reform.
It will shift the focus of prosecution and financial responsibility from the
individual to the political party. Ultimately, political parties must be
responsible for meeting their reporting obligations. It is intended that this
will encourage political parties to ensure that the person tasked with lodging
its returns is suitably qualified to perform the role, and that effective
systems are in place to ensure a complete and accurate return is lodged.
Another gap in the
current arrangements is in the current disclosure period for new candidates,
which only commences from their pre-selection or nomination. The committee has
recommended introducing a requirement for new candidates to disclose relevant
donations and gifts received and money spent in the 12 months prior to their
pre-selection or nomination.
Effective compliance
and enforcement mechanisms are essential if the disclosure arrangements are to
serve their purpose of enabling Australian electors to see the flow of money
through the political system.
Whether the AEC fully
utilised its coercive powers in relation to matters arising in the FWA report
was a matter of lengthy discussion during the committee’s public hearings for
this inquiry. It needs to be made clear what steps the AEC can take to gather
information from individuals and organisations with confirmed, or suspected,
reporting obligations under the Electoral Act. This may involve clarifying, or
strengthening, coercive powers in the Electoral Act.
The committee did not
support some of the possible measures on the AEC’s list of matters. The AEC
indicated that it was keen to pursue measures 4, 5 and 6:
n
introducing a requirement for independent auditing of lodged
returns;
n
abolishing associated entities; and
n
introducing a requirement for dedicated campaign accounts.
The committee
acknowledged the problems these possible measures seek to address. However, it
concluded that requiring independent audits of all returns lodged and dedicated
campaign accounts, would add an unnecessary administrative burden and unduly
complicate the disclosure system.
The current definition
of associated entities is confusing, and when applied does not work as
effectively as it should. The intention of the category is to provide greater
transparency of the flow of money of an entity that has close links to a
political party. This is in contrast to a third party for which political
advocacy and expenditure may only be a small part of its activities.
The committee supports
reviewing and improving the clarity of the definition of an associated entity.
It would be premature to abolish the category of associated entities and could
result in reducing transparency of money in and out of an entity that has close
political ties.
On behalf of the committee I thank the organisations and
individuals who assisted the committee during the inquiry through submissions
or participating at the public hearings in Melbourne and Canberra. I also thank
my colleagues on the committee for their work and contribution to this report,
and the secretariat for their work on this inquiry.
Daryl Melham MP
Chair
Chair |
Mr Daryl Melham MP |
|
Deputy
Chair |
The Hon Alexander Somlyay MP |
|
Members |
The Hon Bronwyn Bishop MP |
Senator Simon Birmingham |
|
The Hon Alan Griffin MP |
Senator Carol Brown |
|
Ms Amanda Rishworth MP |
Senator Helen Polley
Senator Lee Rhiannon
Senator Scott Ryan |
Committee Secretariat
Secretary |
Mr Stephen Boyd |
Inquiry
Secretary |
Ms Samantha Mannette |
Research
Officers |
Ms Zoë Smith
Ms Siobhan Coughlan |
Administrative
Officers |
Ms Natasha Petrović |
|
|
3 AEC possible measures for consideration
Recommendation 1
The committee recommends that the disclosure threshold be
lowered to $1 000, and that the CPI indexation be removed. (paragraph
3.20)
Recommendation 2
The committee recommends that the Commonwealth Electoral
Act 1918 be amended, as necessary, to make offences classified as
‘straightforward matters of fact’ subject to administrative penalties issued by
the Australian Electoral Commission. The issuance of an administrative penalty
should be accompanied by a mechanism for internal review. (paragraph 3.38)
Recommendation 3
The committee recommends that the Commonwealth Electoral
Act 1918 be amended to improve the clarity of the definition of ‘Associated
Entity’. Changes could include:
Defining
‘controlled’ as used in section 287(1)(a) to include the right of a party to
appoint a majority of directors, trustees or office bearers;
Defining
‘to a significant extent’ as used in section 287(1)(b) to include the receipt
of a political party of more than 50 per cent of the distributed funds,
entitlements or benefits enjoyed and/or services provided by the associated
entity in a financial year; and
Defining
‘benefit’ as used in section 287(1)(b) to include the receipt of favourable,
non-commercial arrangements where the party or its members ultimately receives
the benefit. (paragraph 3.104)
Recommendation 4
The committee recommends that the Commonwealth Electoral
Act 1918 be amended to require the electronic lodgement of returns with the
Australian Electoral Commission. The Electoral Commissioner should be able to
grant exemptions to this requirement in limited circumstances. (paragraph
3.127)
Recommendation 5
The committee recommends that the Commonwealth Electoral
Act 1918 be amended to increase the period for the retention of records in
section 317 and related offence in section 315(2)(b) to seven years. (paragraph
3.139)
Recommendation 6
The committee recommends that the Commonwealth Electoral
Act 1918 be amended to insert an offence for a person who fails to make
records to enable complete and accurate disclosure. (paragraph 3.147)
Recommendation 7
The committee recommends that the penalties in relation to
offences that are classified as more ‘serious’ should be strengthened along the
lines proposed in the Commonwealth Electoral Amendment (Political Donations and
Other Measures) Bill 2010. Fraud related offences should be treated as serious
offences for the purposes of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918.
(paragraph 3.164)
Recommendation 8
The committee recommends that the Australian Government
introduce a six-monthly disclosure reporting timeframe, as outlined in the
Commonwealth Electoral Amendment (Political Donations and Other Measures) Bill
2010. (paragraph 3.175)
Recommendation 9
The committee recommends that the Commonwealth Electoral
Act 1918 be amended to extend the disclosure period for new candidates to
12 months prior to pre-selection or nomination, whichever is earlier.
(paragraph 3.204)
Recommendation 10
The committee recommends that the Australian Government
clarify, and where needed strengthen, the coercive powers of the Australian
Electoral Commission to determine the extent of an individual or organisation’s
disclosure obligations and to investigate whether reporting obligations under
Part XX of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 have been met. (paragraph
3.225)
Recommendation 11
The committee recommends that the Commonwealth Electoral
Act 1918 be amended to expand the categories of ‘electoral expenditure’ as
set out in section 308(1), to cover additional relevant items including
campaign staff, premises, office equipment, vehicles and travel. (paragraph 3.234)
Recommendation 12
The committee recommends that the Commonwealth Electoral
Act 1918 be amended to provide that registered political parties be deemed
bodies corporate for the purposes of Part XX of the Act. (paragraph 3.249)
Recommendation 13
The committee recommends that the Commonwealth Electoral
Act 1918 be amended to introduce provisions with greater certainty about
which position or individual has relevant reporting obligations within
political parties, associated entities and third party organisations.
(paragraph 3.257)