Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Special Minister of State, Senator Faulkner. Has the government identified any areas where the accountability, integrity and transparency of the electoral laws are deficient and in need of urgent repair?

John Faulkner (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Cabinet Secretary) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I certainly can assure Senator Polley and the Senate that the government is committed to an accountable and transparent electoral system. There are a number of areas where the accountability, integrity and transparency of the Commonwealth Electoral Act need very urgent and substantial repairs. One of the most critical is the area of the disclosure threshold which applies to political donations. We must lower the donation disclosure threshold from the current $10,500 enacted by the Howard government. This is simply too high. I can assure the Senate that the government’s policy is to ensure that all donations over $1,000 are exposed to public scrutiny. The Australian public needs to know who gives substantial donations and to whom they are given.

We must also close the loophole through which people can avoid their disclosure obligations and cover up their donations by splitting those donations between state divisions or branches of the same political party. And we must ban overseas donations because they are beyond the jurisdiction and of course cannot be investigated by the AEC. We must remedy the absurdly long time frames which political parties and candidates have to report their donations publicly. Today, in June 2008, we still do not know who made significant donations to the major political parties and the candidates during the campaign for the election of November 2007. Reporting requirements for political parties and candidates need to be made more comprehensive and they should be more timely. We must also ensure that no-one can profit from standing for public office. Public funding must be for electoral expenses incurred.

There is mounting concern in the community, I think, over the erosion of transparency. The AEC has reported that for 2004-05, when the donation disclosure threshold was $1,500, 1,286 donor returns were lodged with the AEC. For 2005-06, after the previous government raised the threshold to $10,000 indexed, only 317 donor returns were lodged—fewer that one-quarter of the number of donor returns could be scrutinised by the public than had previously been the case. This is bad for democracy and for the political process. These are problems that need to be fixed and they need to be fixed now. The way to fix them is to pass and support the government’s Commonwealth Electoral Amendment (Political Donations and Other Measures) Bill 2008, which the opposition is trying to block—for not days, not months, but years.

Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. In his answer, the minister referred to the fact that candidates can receive more public funding from the taxpayer than the expenditure incurred on their campaign. How can this practice be stopped?

John Faulkner (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Cabinet Secretary) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The government is aware that under the Electoral Act candidates for public office—or parties for that matter—can receive more in public funding than they spend on their election campaigns—that is, candidates can make a profit from running for public office. I want to say very clearly that the Howard government, which allowed this situation to continue for election after election—

Nick Minchin (SA, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Minchin interjecting—

John Faulkner (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Cabinet Secretary) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Well I can say to you, Senator Minchin—

Alan Ferguson (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Senator Faulkner, please address your comment through the chair.

John Faulkner (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Cabinet Secretary) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Through you, Mr President, I say to the whole Senate that the Rudd government is committed to ending this rort.