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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 11 Hansard (26 September) . . Page.. 3634 ..

Mr Speaker -

This Bill is intended to bring the ACT's election funding and financial disclosure laws into line with those of the Commonwealth.

When the ACT's election disclosure laws were introduced in 1994, they were modelled on the Commonwealth disclosure scheme. This had the advantage of reducing the work load imposed on political parties registered at the Commonwealth and ACT levels, as the same details were required to be disclosed at both levels.

However, the Commonwealth amended its disclosure scheme in 1995 to make the reporting obligations less onerous for parties and to strengthen the disclosure requirements applicable to donors. The ACT's disclosure laws are now considerably out of step with the Commonwealth laws. As a result, political parties registered under both ACT and Commonwealth laws would be required to submit information in two entirely different formats. This Bill will remove the differences between the two schemes.

Mr Speaker, members will be aware that the ACT's current disclosure laws require parties, candidates and independent MLAs to disclose details of expenditure and donations received in considerable detail. Measures are included in this Bill which will reduce the amount of detail required without compromising the integrity of the disclosure scheme.

In particular, less detail will be required to be set out in the annual returns submitted by parties and independent MLAs. Currently, where a person donates $1500 or more to a party or independent MLA, annual returns are required to include the date and the amount of each individual donation made by that person. Under this Bill, where a person donates $1500 or more to a party or independent MLA in a year, only the total amount donated by that person during the year need be shown. Minor donations of less than $500 will not be included in calculating that total.

To further reduce the burden placed on parties registered at the ACT and Commonwealth levels, those parties will be able to fulfil their ACT obligations by submitting a copy of their Commonwealth annual returns to the ACT Electoral Commission. At present separate returns must be submitted to the ACT Commission.

The date for submitting annual returns to the Electoral Commission will also be brought forward by 4 weeks, so that annual returns will be due 16 weeks after the end of each financial year.

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