Page 31 - Week 01 - Tuesday, 12 February 2019
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Anna Ross, Kate Gill-Herdman and Michael Joffe from Corrs Chambers Westgarth wrote in 2015 that the Lange test:
… requires that not only must the purpose of the provisions be compatible with the system of representative government provided for in the constitution but so too must the means adopted to achieve that purpose.
They go on to note that the High Court found that caps on political donations are valid because although such provisions target money which may be used for political communication, they also have the legitimate purpose of preventing corruption and undue influence in government by preventing the payments of large sums of money which could be used to influence decisions in favour of the donor.
While our amendments on donations are not the only ones we will be moving when we eventually debate the detail stage, the Greens do believe they are the most important. I will go through our amendments in more detail at the detail stage, which I understand will be on another day.
An open and robust electoral system is a key component in safeguarding our democracy. Politics must be of and for the people. Our policies and budget decisions must be in everyone’s interests, and access and influence should not be restricted to those with the deepest pockets.
The Greens wholeheartedly support the bill in principle. We will be moving a range of amendments which we believe will further strengthen our democracy.
MS CHEYNE (Ginninderra) (11.14): The Electoral Amendment Bill 2018 meets a key government election commitment by banning political donations from property developers. This is a bill that will increase public confidence in our democratic system of government by removing perceived bias and strengthening our electoral reporting framework.
It sits alongside the government’s work to create the ACT Integrity Commission and, as other members have noted, it reflects the parliamentary agreement of the Ninth Legislative Assembly. The bill, importantly, implements the key commitments made in the government’s response to the Select Committee on the 2016 ACT Election and Electoral Act, a select committee I was part of and remember pretty vividly.
The bill represents the first stage of reforms that the government is developing in response to the select committee’s report. The next tranche of electoral reforms will address other issues in that report, including how the communications allowance is provided to MLAs and managed under the relevant regulations and legislation, something I think we are all interested in.
The impact that existing rules and regulations about disclosure and reporting obligations for campaign activities have on MLAs will also be considered. The government is indeed committed to preventing the risk and perception of corruption and undue influence and maintaining confidence in the ACT system of representative government.
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