Big money has corrupted our democracy, creating a clear conflict between private and public interests.
The Greens have consistently advocated for strict donations and spending caps to reduce the influence of big money on politics. This must include the introduction of a rigorous regime for donations disclosure to improve accountability and transparency of campaign funding.
The Greens support the objective of timely and accessible disclosure of donation data in the Commonwealth Electoral Amendment (Real time Disclosure of Political Donations) Bill 2019 (the Bill).
However, we consider that the Bill does not go far enough to effectively address the key risks associated with the corrupting influence of political donations, because it:
maintains the current disclosure threshold;
does not affect membership subscriptions or attendance at fundraising events; and
does not impose any restrictions on the source of political donations or the total amount that can be donated.
The Bill improves transparency measures in relation to donations, but does not address the bigger issue of the political influence of those making donations. While transparency will provide the public with more information about this influence, it will not remove the influence.
We believe that deficiencies in the Bill could be rectified through amendments, rather than providing a basis for a recommendation that it not be passed.
Disclosure threshold
The Bill does not seek to amend the disclosure threshold under the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918, currently $14,000. However, we note that a subsequent Bill sponsored by Ms Sharkie proposes lowering the threshold to $1,000.
The Greens support lowering the donation disclosure threshold to $1,000. This is consistent with recommendations made by a number of previous parliamentary inquiries and the threshold applying in a number of Australian jurisdictions.
For clarity, we recommend that this Bill be amended to incorporate the amendments proposed in the Commonwealth Electoral Amendment (Lowering the Donation Disclosure Threshold) Bill 2019.
Gifts below disclosure threshold
As drafted, the new s.305C proposed by the Bill would require notice to be given to the Electoral Commission of any gift to a political party, State branch, or political campaigner, irrespective of the disclosure threshold under the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918. The requirement to report “in real time” donations of any size would have significant administrative implications for small parties and political campaigners who generally receive a large volume of small donations.
Despite the broad drafting, the intent of the Bill appears to have been to improve the efficiency and transparency of donations above the current threshold.
RECOMMENDATION 1:
Amend the Bill to incorporate the provisions of the Commonwealth Electoral Amendment (Lowering the Donation Disclosure Threshold) Bill 2019, and provide for a cumulative annual donation threshold of $1,000.
RECOMMENDATION 2:
Amend the proposed s.305C of the Bill to ensure notification obligations relate to gifts over the disclosure threshold.
Definition of gifts
Under the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918, “gift” expressly excludes subscription and membership fees and attendance fees at fundraising events. The exclusion of these fees from disclosure obligations effectively hides a significant source of campaign income for many political parties and political campaigners.
The obligation to disclose gifts also extends beyond donations intended for election campaigning. A number of charities and non-government organisations that are registered as political campaigners undertake a wide range of activities that are unrelated to election campaigning, and often rely on donations to deliver these activities. In recognition of this, s.305B(6) of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 currently excludes gifts received by charities that are not used for electoral expenditure or communicating electoral matters.
If the disclosure obligation proposed by the Bill applies to all gifts made to political campaigners, even when directed to non-election programs, this will create a significant administrative burden in addition to the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) reporting requirements all charities are subject to.
RECOMMENDATION 3:
Amend the definition of 'gift' under the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 to membership subscriptions and payments for attendance at events and fundraisers hosted by candidates, political parties and associated entities.
RECOMMENDATION 4:
Amend the Bill to limit disclosure obligations for political campaigners to gifts made explicitly for election-related expenses.
Restrictions on donations
The Bill improves transparency measures in relation to donations, but does not address the bigger issue of the political influence of those making donations. While transparency will provide the public with more information about this influence, it will not remove the influence.
We support the recommendations made by the Senate Select Committee Inquiry into the Political Influence of Donations to ban all donations from developers, banks, mining companies and the tobacco, liquor, gambling, defence and pharmaceutical industries to political parties, candidates and associated entities, and to limit all other political donations to $3,000 per electoral cycle.
RECOMMENDATION 5:
Amend the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 to:
introduce a cap on donations to political parties, candidates and associated entities to a cumulative maximum value of $3,000 per parliamentary term; and
introduce a ban on donations from developers, banks, mining companies and the tobacco, liquor, gambling, defence and pharmaceutical industries to political parties, candidates and associated entities.
Reporting requirements
The Greens support further efforts to ensure that campaign financing disclosures are accessible, understandable and able to be effectively interrogated. Any reforms to the disclosure obligations must be supported by administrative practices within the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) to facilitate this.
The AEC should also be given powers to investigate disclosures and take enforcement action in relation to breaches.
RECOMMENDATION 6:
Revise annual return forms to require more detailed reporting, including specific classifications for each type of income.
RECOMMENDATION 7:
Ensure that the presentation of political finance data on the AEC website provides greater accessibility and functionality of files to facilitate public research and investigation.
RECOMMENDATION 8:
Increase the regulatory powers of the SEC to monitor and enforce compliance with the political funding and disclosure regime, including aggregation of donations below the disclosure threshold.