Democracy for Sale

Lee Rhiannon Media Release 11 August 2010

NSW Premier Keneally announced proposals for electoral funding reform that will go to cabinet next week.  The cabinet minutes that Keneally signed proposes a $100,000 cap on spending by parties in each seat during an election campaign and states that 70% of all campaign spending will be publicly funded.  There will be a $2,000 limit on the amount individuals can donate to candidates and a $5,000 limit on individuals donating to parties.

But there are many details that need to be dealt with in order to achieve real reform.  Is this just an election stunt or a worthy proposal for real reform? “ Lee Rhiannon asked.  Read more below of Ms Rhiannon's response to Keneally's proposals.

Mark Aarons  The Monthly August 2010

Mark Aarons was a senior adviser to the NSW Labor government  from 1996 to 2006.  In his article, The Hollowmen, he said rumours circulated regularly about pressures NSW Labor's head office exerted on various ministerial offices to assist large donors.  He recounts how he was once asked by a senior NSW party official to fix some problems for a large north-coast developer who was a major donor to the ALP.

The Sun Herald  Heath Ashton  8 August 2010

Former NSW Premier Nathan Rees will tell ICAC later this month that all political donations from the private sector must be banned.  ''Lobbying is inevitable; the issue is making it transparent,'' according to Mr Rees.  "The real issue is political donations from the private sector."

Royce Millar & Ben Schneiders  The Age  7 August 2010

Trade unions in Australia may have lost clout, but they continue to be a major source of Labor funds.  However, in NSW the property industry has topped the unions as the largest contributor to the ALP in four of the past ten years. 

After the disastrous move by the Howard government to cripple the federal disclosure scheme effective in December 2005, it is impossible to accurately understand how much is really given to political parties by unions or various business groups.  But the best guess, including far more accurate figures from the NSW Election Funding Authority, is that unions may have contributed as much as $150 million over the past decade.