Page 284 - Week 01 - Thursday, 10 February 2022
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no campaigning prior to 1 January 2020 and incurred no campaign expenses prior to 1 January 2020? Mr Hanson knows it is not counted and therefore does not count. Very real expenditure was incurred by the Greens in support of the Greens’ campaign, but it does not fit Mr Hanson’s blinkered definition of the system he co-designed and voted for.
Perhaps Mr Hanson would prefer that the Greens accept more private money and be like the Liberals. With private money, which, strangely, Mr Hanson’s motion makes no mention of, there is always the question of: “What are these donors getting from their politicians? What special access will they demand and receive? Did the individuals and companies that made these donations do so out of the generosity and kindness of their hearts or did they expect something in return?”
I thought I should go through where the Canberra Liberals’ money came from for the last election. The Canberra Liberals raked in $1,613,522 in the 2020-21 financial year, plus $912,546 for the year before. $2.5 million is a sizeable sum of money. The Canberra Liberals, the party for private enterprise and having a go, is a large beneficiary of the public funds that Mr Hanson refers to. The Canberra Liberals received more than $1 million in public funding in the 2020-21 financial year. This was made up of $784,921 in election funding and $220,333.92 in administrative funding.
I will give Mr Hanson his due. One advantage of the system that he co-designed and voted in support of is that public moneys do not create an obligation on a political party. It is meant to get the private moneys and influences out of politics, but for the Canberra Liberals, they say, “Wa-hey! Why not both?” Some notable corporate gifts and donations provided to the Liberal Party included: LJ Hooker Commercial, $197,861.73; and Sun & Sea Australia, $18,888. Other contributors included Citriene & Co, ClubsACT, Elvin Group, Canberra Deakin Football Club, Gungahlin Lakes Club, Laundy Hotel, Kaycraft, Licensed Clubs Association of the ACT, Moraschi Roofing, Rivoland Tiles and Premier National.
Do the Canberra Liberals propose to return all those moneys that they received or do they proudly take these funds and the purchasing of influence? Did the Canberra Liberals profit from the donations above and beyond the public moneys that you have mentioned before, Mr Hanson?
You have also made mention of our new office. We have moved to where the people are so that they can walk past our front door and be able to walk in. I would much prefer to be there than in the backblocks of Deakin. When was the last time someone walked in through the Canberra Liberals’ door and decided that they wished to join?
I must stress that one part of the fit-out of that office is actually a sofa that my wife bought in 2003. We tried to donate that sofa to the Salvation Army in 2011 but they declined, stating that it was not acceptable. That sofa has sat on my back patio for the last 10 years. Finally, I was able to replace that sofa, and that is what I donated to the office. So that is what we are talking about in terms of an office fit-out.
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