Page 35 - Week 01 - Tuesday, 12 February 2019
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candidates are accountable for their campaign activities and fundraising. The bill also introduces year-round reporting of gifts that exceed the $1,000 disclosure threshold.
These changes also come from an evidence base. The government considered these issues in detail following the report of the Select Committee on the 2016 Election and the Electoral Act. The government will continue to progress work on the other issues that emerged from this report, such as the management of the communications allowance provided to MLAs and the disclosure and reporting obligations for campaign activities. The government will also work with the ACT Electoral Commission to ensure that our elections are fair, inclusive and transparent.
The government acknowledges that the interaction between commonwealth and state legislation continues to be the subject of High Court review. Both Queensland and commonwealth legislation are currently being tested in the case of Gary Douglas Spence v Queensland. The government is intervening in that case to protect the interests of the territory.
The integrity of public institutions is critical to a healthy democracy, and this government has delivered legislation to secure that integrity. This bill has been drafted taking into consideration human rights, High Court judgements, and relevant inquiries and reports. The result is a human rights compliant bill that focuses narrowly on the risk of influence on government decisions.
The government will continue to progress work in this space to ensure a robust system that guarantees the ongoing public confidence of Canberrans in their public institutions. I am hopeful that as members our shared commitment to transparency and fair elections will in the future allow us to pass a bill that is legally sound and is effective.
I join my colleagues in ACT Labor today in expressing my commitment to electoral laws that improve the fairness and transparency of ACT government and protect the constitutional and other rights of Canberrans to participate in our democracy.
Question resolved in the affirmative.
Bill agreed to in principle.
Detail stage
Clause 1.
Debate (on motion by Mr Wall) adjourned to the next sitting.
Canberra Institute of Technology Amendment Bill 2018
Debate resumed from 29 November 2018, on motion by Ms Fitzharris:
That this bill be agreed to in principle.
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