Labor is calling on the Turnbull Liberal Government to urgently reconsider our plan to restore integrity to Australia’s political donations system, following reports in today’s Australian newspaper.
It’s up to Mr Turnbull to explain whether he donated $1 million to his own party as reported today. These are questions he shouldn’t have a problem answering.
People have always said Mr Turnbull would do and say anything to keep the top job, although most people don’t have a spare million lying around to throw in.
What is it about the Liberal Party and donations? No wonder no one wants to donate to them, given the scandals we’ve seen in NSW with the controversial Free Enterprise Foundation and the Liberal Party’s former Victorian Director in prison for ripping off donations.
Labor wants to increase transparency when it comes to political donations.
As recently as March 2016 the Liberals, Nationals and Greens together thwarted Labor’s attempts to legislate reforms to the system.
A Shorten Labor Government will:
· Reduce the donation disclosure threshold from the current level of $13,000 (indexed to inflation) to a fixed $1,000.
· Ban ‘donation splitting’ where donations are spread between different branches of political parties and associated entities – like the Free Enterprise Foundation – to avoid disclosure obligations.
· Prohibit the receipt of foreign donations.
· Ban the receipt of anonymous donations above $50.
· Link public funding to campaign expenditure to prevent serial candidates like Pauline Hanson making a windfall from standing for election.
· Introduce new offences and increased penalties for abuses of the political donation disclosure regime.
Labor also wants the bipartisan Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters to make recommendations on “real time” disclosure of political donations and improved regulation of associated entitles like the Liberal Party’s Free Enterprise Foundation, the Wentworth Forum and the Fadden Forum established by Malcolm Turnbull’s former Minister Stuart Robert.
Labor has long championed greater transparency and accountability in relation to political donations.