Stirling Griff (SA, Centre Alliance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate—

(a) recognises transparency and accountability in Government are the hallmarks of a strong democracy;

(b) acknowledges trust in government has reached an all-time low compounded by recent scandals;

(c) notes, with concern, the results of the Australian National University 2019 Australian election study that:

  (i) satisfaction with democracy is at its lowest level (59%) since the constitutional crisis of the 1970s,

  (ii) trust in Government has reached its lowest level on record, with just 25% believing people in government can be trusted, and

  (iii) 56% of Australians believe that the Government is run for 'a few big interests', while just 12% believe the Government is run for 'all the people'; and

(d) further acknowledges that winning back people's trust is among the most urgent challenges facing political leaders;

(e) recognises rebuilding trust with voters involves tightening the rules around political donations;

(f) further recognises that donations to political parties revealed in the Australian Electoral Commission disclosures published on Monday demonstrate the need for urgent political donations reform;

(g) recognises that, ideally, the Government should ban corporate donations from vested interests that seek to influence government policy; and

(h) calls on the Federal Government, as a minimum, to:

  (i) lower the disclosure threshold for political donations to $1000; and

  (ii) for real time disclosures of donations to political parties.

Jonathon Duniam (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Forestry and Fisheries) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for one minute.

Jonathon Duniam (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Forestry and Fisheries) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Australia has a robust system of political disclosures overseen by the independent Australian Electoral Commission. Under changes introduced by this government to improve transparency, political campaigner disclosures have now been published for the first time, which reveal that nine unions spent almost $33 million on electoral expenditure in 2018-19, with just the ACTU spending over $21.2 million. When including third-party electoral expenditure, unions spent almost $35 million in 2018-19. A complete ban on corporate donations is misguided and will create an uneven playing field between big unions and other organisations in the Australian community, as well as posing potential constitutional problems. A $1,000 unindexed threshold is very low, and such a measure would risk increasing red tape and discouraging individuals from participating in the political process for fear of intimidation or retribution from political opponents.

Pauline Hanson (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for one minute.

Pauline Hanson (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

One Nation does agree with the whole concept of this notice of motion, but I'd have to draw attention to section (f), where it states 'further recognises that donations to political parties revealed in the Australian Electoral Commission disclosures published on Monday demonstrate the need for urgent political donations reform'. That notice published on Monday was basically that the media said it was donations to the political party. It wasn't. It was revenue that was collected by the political parties from January 2018 to 2019. They were not political donations. It comes from membership and it comes from revenue and sales by the party, therefore I dispute the over $3 million as political donations to the political party that was published in the paper last Monday.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The question is the motion moved by Senator Griff be agreed to.

The Senate divided. [12:47]

(The President—Senator Ryan)

The division was unavailable at the time of publishing.

Question agreed to.