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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 12 Hansard (21 November) . . Page.. 4018 ..

(b) operates wholly or mainly for the benefit of 1 or more registered parties or an independent MLA; or

MR MOORE (8.19): Mr Speaker, I am absolutely flabbergasted that Ms Horodny is not speaking to this amendment, though I must say we heard in her in-principle speech an explanation of her understanding of what her amendment is about. This deals with the very positive side of the Bill that I spoke about earlier. The provisions are extended so that they take into account an associated entity. I gave as an example, in the case of the Liberal Party, the 250 Club; in the case of the Labor Party, the unions or some clubs. I think this is a very important extension. I am delighted to support the Greens - a tightening of the definition is the way I would see it - on this issue, to make sure it does not apply just to parties but applies also to Independents and tightens up those definitions. I am quite comfortable about supporting that amendment.

MR HUMPHRIES (Attorney-General) (8.20): I am afraid I am not quite as enamoured of this amendment as Mr Moore is. I emphasise what Mr Moore has said, which is that the provisions about associated entities in the legislation are an extension of the accountability in the legislation. Organisations which previously did feed into political parties and provided them with funding and which were not required to disclose their financial affairs through an annual return are now being covered by the legislation and will be required to make that kind of disclosure. What Ms Horodny wants to do - I think she does; she has not said anything - in this amendment is extend the operation of the associated entity concept to cover more organisations.

Mr Moore: To cover people who collect money for parties.

MR HUMPHRIES: No; to cover more organisations. We have covered, in the definition of "associated entity", an organisation controlled by one or more registered parties or an Independent MLA; we have covered organisations operating wholly or mainly for the benefit of one or more registered parties or an Independent MLA - and we have heard from Mr Moore what those sorts of organisations are - but Ms Horodny wants to add to that definition a body which "collects money for distribution to one or more registered parties, Independent MLAs or candidates".

Let me ask Ms Horodny: What happens if there is a Federal election tomorrow, for argument's sake, and there is a meeting of the local branch of the AMA and people say, "We have to do something about this terrible Wooldridge fellow; let us have a whip-round for the ALP", and they pass a hat around - - -

Mr Whitecross: That is a good idea, Gary.

MR HUMPHRIES: I know it is highly hypothetical, of course; we are talking about the AMA. But let us suppose they pass the hat around and put some money forward for the local Labor candidate or, for that matter, a Green candidate - they are not keen on either party; why not support a Green candidate? Under that definition put forward by

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