Labor members of the JSCEM do not support recommendation 10, and are deeply concerned that it has been proposed by the government.
We do not believe interference with state and territory laws, properly made, which have put in place caps on political donations and bans on particular donors, like property developers, is warranted. We note that some of these provisions potentially affected have been put in place on the recommendation of anti-corruption commissions.
This belief is heightened given the scope of the present bill as previously presented, which did not relate at all to this issue, and given the inadequate opportunity for the community and affected governments to be heard on this important question.
Labor members also have some concerns with some minor matters contained in the report but which do not go fundamentally to its recommendations. We will raise these in our contributions to debate on the report, given the limited time available to us to make this dissenting report.
Labor supports the remaining recommendations and will closely consider the provisions presented to the parliament to ensure they meet the standard JSCEM has set in its earlier report and which the community deserves. We will pay particularly close attention to the implementation of recommendation 1, to ensure that all political actors have certainty and that our civil society continues to be able to be a robust and effective voice for Australians on the issues that matter to them.
We appreciate the engagement of charities, non for profits and interested academics throughout this process. Thus has made a real difference.
Additionally, Labor remains committed to wide-ranging democratic reforms beyond those contained in this legislation to restore trust in politics. We will continue to pursue the introduction of a national integrity commission and further donations reform as priorities.
Mr Andrew Giles MP
Deputy Chair
Senator Carol Brown
Member
Senator Chris Ketter
Member
Mr Milton Dick MP
Member
12 October 2018