Contents
1............ Short
title............................................................................................. 1
2............ Commencement................................................................................... 1
3............ Schedule(s)......................................................................................... 2
Schedule 1—Amendment
of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 3
A Bill for an
Act to amend the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 in relation to
political donations by the tobacco industry, and for related purposes
The Parliament
of Australia enacts:
1 Short title
This
Act may be cited as the Commonwealth Electoral Amendment (Tobacco Industry
Donations) Act 2011.
2 Commencement
(1) Each
provision of this Act specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken
to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other
statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.
|
Commencement
information |
|
Column
1 |
Column
2 |
Column
3 |
|
Provision(s) |
Commencement |
Date/Details |
|
1.
Sections 1 to 3 and anything in this Act not elsewhere covered by this
table |
The day this
Act receives the Royal Assent. |
|
|
2.
Schedule 1 |
The 28th day
after the day this Act receives the Royal Assent. |
|
Note: This table relates only to the provisions
of this Act as originally enacted. It will not be amended to deal with any
later amendments of this Act.
(2) Any
information in column 3 of the table is not part of this Act. Information may
be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any
published version of this Act.
3 Schedule(s)
Each
Act that is specified in a Schedule to this Act is amended or repealed as set
out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a
Schedule to this Act has effect according to its terms.
Schedule 1—Amendment of the Commonwealth
Electoral Act 1918
1 After
section 303
Insert:
303AA Certain gifts not to be
received
(1) It
is unlawful for:
(a) a
political party; or
(b) a
State branch of a political party; or
(c) a
person acting on behalf of a political party or a State branch of a political
party;
to receive a
gift made to or for the benefit of the party or branch by another person or
entity if the person or entity making the gift is:
(d) a
manufacturer or wholesaler of tobacco products; or
(e) the
agent of a manufacturer or wholesaler of tobacco products.
(2) It
is unlawful for:
(a) a
candidate; or
(b) a
member of a group; or
(c) a
person acting on behalf of a candidate or group;
to receive a
gift made to or for the benefit of the candidate or the group, as the case may
be, by another person or entity if the person or entity making the gift is:
(d) a
manufacturer or wholesaler of tobacco products; or
(e) the
agent of a manufacturer or wholesaler of tobacco products.
(3) A
person or entity must not accept a gift at any time, if the purpose of the gift
is to:
(a) to
enable the person or entity to make gifts covered by subsections (1) and
(2); or
(b) to
reimburse the person or entity for making such gifts.
(4) For
the purpose of subsection (2), a person who is a candidate in an election
shall be taken to remain a candidate for 30 days after the polling day in the
election.
(5) For
the purpose of subsection (2), persons who constituted a group in an
election shall be taken to continue to constitute the same group for 30 days
after the polling day in the election.
(6) If
a person or entity receives a gift that, by virtue of this section, it is
unlawful for the person or entity to receive, an amount equal to the amount or
value of the gift is payable by that person or entity to the Commonwealth and
may be recovered by the Commonwealth as a debt due to the Commonwealth by
action, in a court of competent jurisdiction, against:
(a) in
the case of a gift to or for the benefit of a political party or a State branch
of a political party:
(i) if
the party or branch, as the case may be, is a body corporate—the party or
branch, as the case may be; or
(ii) in
any other case—the agent of the party or branch, as the case may be; or
(b) in
any other case—the candidate or a member of the group or the agent of the
candidate or of the group, as the case may be.
303AB Unlawful circumvention of
subsection 303AA(1), (2) or (3)
(1) A
person or an entity must not:
(a) circumvent,
or attempt to circumvent, subsection 303AA(1), (2) or (3); or
(b) act
in collusion with another person or entity for that purpose.
(2) A
person or entity who contravenes subsection (1) is guilty of an offence
punishable on conviction:
(a) if
the offender is a natural person—by a fine not exceeding 10 penalty units or
imprisonment for 3 months, or both; or
(b) if
the offender is a body corporate—by a fine not exceeding 50 penalty units.
303AC Unlawful contributions
(1) A
person or entity must not make a gift to or for the benefit of a political
party or a candidate that comes from money, property or services of another
person or entity, if that other person or entity is:
(a) a
manufacturer or wholesaler of tobacco products; or
(b) the
agent of a manufacturer or wholesaler of tobacco products; and
the money,
property or services were provided to the first person or entity to enable the
person or entity to make that gift or to reimburse the person or entity for
making that gift.
(2) A
person or entity who contravenes subsection (1) is guilty of an offence
punishable on conviction:
(a) if
the offender is a natural person—by a fine not exceeding 10 penalty units or
imprisonment for 3 months, or both; or
(b) if
the offender is a body corporate—by a fine not exceeding 50 penalty units.