Independent Member for Clark, Andrew Wilkie, introduces a Bill in the Federal Parliament to strengthen the transparency and accountability of political donations in Australia.
“Figures released earlier this month by the Centre for Public Integrity and the Australian Electoral Commission show Australia continues to have a problem with shadowy political donations,” Mr Wilkie said. “Indeed Australia’s political donation laws remain downright laughable, designed to make it easy for large donors to fly below the radar when seeking to secure sway with politicians.
“This opaque arrangement is a real danger to democracy. It’s absurd that voters at the looming poll won’t know who bankrolled parties and candidates until 2023. Australians’ confidence in politicians and the political process is at an all-time low, and for good reason. That’s why today I’m introducing legislation that will help restore Australians’ dwindling trust in politicians.”
Mr Wilkie’s Commonwealth Electoral Amendment (Cleaning up Political Donations) Bill 2022 requires real-time disclosure, lowers the donation disclosure threshold to $1,000 aggregated, implements caps on donations and electoral expenditure, expands the definition of gift, and prohibits political donations from particular industries, including fossil-fuel entities, gambling companies, liquor companies, and the tobacco industry.