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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 12 Hansard (21 November) . . Page.. 4030 ..

Mr Humphries: Cheap at half the price.

MR MOORE: Cheap at half the price. Thank you, Mr Humphries. You are hoping that next time I will run it at half the price. I understand that; yes, indeed.

I think these are critical issues; they are not to be dismissed simply as lining up with the Commonwealth. We do not have those arguments. I do not believe anybody in the Assembly can justify to the public a weakening of this responsibility, because it will be seen only as providing the possibility to conceal political donations. One has to ask about concealing political donations. If I were particularly cynical about this - and publicly I have not been - I would say this is just an attempt by Mr Humphries to conceal political donations. I must say that would be terribly unfair. It would be unfair.

Mr Whitecross: You would not say that, though.

MR MOORE: No, and I am going to illustrate why. I have not said it, because we can see from the rest of the Bill that Mr Humphries has made an appropriate attempt to have open disclosure, with reference specifically to how the 250 Club falls under this provision. The Opposition has supported it. We know that the associated entity parts of the Bill will catch the 250 Club. Mr Whitecross assures me that the Electoral Commission tells them that it will catch the Labor Club. Having heard people support that, I think the intention of individual members has not been about concealing donations; yet that is the effect of this Bill.

If people doubt what I am saying, then I suggest the best thing to do would be to adjourn debate on the Bill at this stage and come back and deal with it at a later hour tonight or early tomorrow morning; or, if you wish to take advice, Mr Humphries, I would be very happy to have it put off until December. It seems to me that we ought not be taking any actions which will conceal donations. If we want to avoid concealing donations, then I urge members to support me in my opposition to this clause.

MR HUMPHRIES (Attorney-General) (9.04): Mr Speaker, first of all, I have to express, perhaps, just a little dismay at the conspiratorial world that Mr Moore imagines that political parties, obviously not like his own, dwell in - the world where a little bit of money changes hands; you make a donation; and anything can happen. Obviously, he will laugh sarcastically at my comment, but I honestly do not believe that Australian politics, at least politics in the ACT, operates at that kind of level.

Mr Moore: Ha! Come off it, Gary.

Mr Whitecross: It worked.

MR HUMPHRIES: It worked. He did laugh, you see. I predicted it accurately.

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