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New data outlining the extent of political donations highlights the need for reform to ensure fair elections, says the Human Rights Law Centre.
The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) on Monday released data revealing how much each political party and campaigners spent in the 2019 federal election, and the donations used to fund those campaigns.
Among the disclosures listed by the AEC were that Clive Palmer donated almost $84 million from his company Mineralogy Pty Ltd to his own election campaign, “dwarfing all other donations”, HRLC observed.
The next biggest donation, the centre continued, was $4.1 million to the Liberal Party from Sugolena Pty Ltd, a company linked with Sydney property owner and arts philanthropist Isaac Wakil, and the largest donation to the ALP was $3 million from the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union National Office.
HRLC senior lawyer Alice Drury said the data demonstrated that reforms to make Australian elections fairer are “desperately needed”.
“Whether rich or poor, everyone should feel empowered to have a say on issues that matter to them at election time. This data shows that in reality, the bigger your bank balance, the bigger your megaphone. And that instead of representing our interests, our politicians are beholden to the big donors who fund their campaigns,” she posited.
“Australia lags far behind other countries when it comes to regulating money in politics. The reforms we need are clear. We need limits on donations to politicians and more public funding, so that politicians answer to us and not their big benefactors.”
“We also need limits on election spends, so rich people can’t far outspend everyone else.”
“Donors give big donations to politicians in order to influence their decisions. It’s outrageous that we don’t know when and from where politicians get their money until well after election day,” Ms Drury argued.
“Real-time disclosure of donations would significantly improve transparency of who is paying for politicians’ election campaigns.”
Jerome Doraisamy is the managing editor of Lawyers Weekly and HR Leader. He is also the author of The Wellness Doctrines book series, an admitted solicitor in New South Wales, and a board director of the Minds Count Foundation.
You can email Jerome at:
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Jerome Doraisamy
