Larissa Waters (Queensland, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I will move Australian Greens amendment (7) on sheet 8546 revised. But, before I do that, I flag that I will withdraw amendment (8) on sheet 8546. Coming to amendment (7), there has been a lot of talk here, particularly in relation to the last amendments, where only the Greens and a couple of our other colleagues voted to oppose donations from large corporate vested interests. Some of the earlier criticism was, 'You're singling out these people unfairly.' Folks, now is your chance! This amendment would say that all donations will be capped at $1,000 per year. We don't care who you are—absolutely everyone, whether you're an individual, a union or a business: no more donations of more than $1,000 a year. We genuinely want to clean up politics, and this is how you do it.

There is a small step forward in this bill that restricts some foreign donations. We think you can drive a truck through the loopholes. We want to fix those loopholes with an amendment just like this. Let's get big money out of politics. Let's put people back into the heart of decision-making. Now is your chance to show whether you actually want to fix this problem or whether you just want to look like you're doing something in the hope that this issue goes away. The community wants something done about this. There is widespread support for this amendment. Getting big money out of politics is the single most common issue raised with me as I move around the state and the country.