Clean up political donations
Earlier this week, Liberal Minister Christopher Pyne tip-toed away from the party line by calling for a ban on all non-individual donations – a ban that would curtail the political influence of big money from corporations and third party entities.
This might be the first time such a prominent Liberal Minister has called for reforms to clean up Australia's political donation process.
Cleaning up our democracy will take more than just a ban on corporate and union donations: leaving individual donations unchecked will still allow deep-pocketed individuals to donate huge amounts to political parties, drowning out the voices of ordinary Australians who can't afford to purchase political clout. But Minister Pyne is on the right track: and combining a ban on donations from third parties with a cap on contributions could be just what we need to clean up our political process.
Minister Pyne, alone, won't be loud enough to drown out the powerful vested interests looking to buy influence. Without our support, this might end up as little more than a blip on the radar.
But together, we can show our support for a ban on big donations from big business, and a cap on individual contributions to political parties.
Will you join us in calling for measures that clean up the corruption in our political parties, and keep large-scale corporate donations out of our democracy by signing the petition?
FAQs
We think it's time to get the undue influence of big donors out of our democracy.
Here are the four principles that underlie this campaign:
Only individuals should be allowed to donate to political parties. Donating is a great form of political expression – but it shouldn't be an expense required to gain access. When corporations and other organisations donate large sums to political parties it makes the rest of us feel that we can't trust our elected representatives – after all 'he who pays the piper calls the tune'. If people really are passionate about contributing to a party, they would still be able to do so under their own name.
Increasing transparency requirements. We also need to increase transparency of individual donations to make sure corporate money isn't being funnelled through individual donations instead. This means individual donors who give more than a certain threshold (we propose $500) would have to disclose the name of their employer.
Capping individual donations at a reasonable limit. Donating is a legitimate means of political engagement – GetUp is a great example of that. But there should be reasonable limits. Individual donations should be capped at $1,000 a year to prevent anyone having undue influence on our representatives. It's important that we also have strong laws that protect against 'smurfing' – the practice of splitting donations amongst a group of people.
Increase public funding of elections and parties. Parties have become reliant on big donors to fund their campaigns and operations. If we are to eliminate the influence of corporate donations on politics, more public funding will have to be provided to parties. Depending on the system used and the level of funding, this is estimated to cost in the vicinity of $30 million dollars. This may sound like a lot, but international studies have shown that public funding has a positive effect on political competitiveness and decision-making. Given that the policies and private contracts our politicians oversee add up to tens of billions of dollars, we think paying a little more to make sure those decisions are free from undue influence is a good investment.
The legislation required to make this happen will require a lot of thought and research – but the principles are simple. Caps on political donations are working well in other democracies around the world and we deserve no less in Australia.
Here are the four principles that underlie this campaign:
Only individuals should be allowed to donate to political parties. Donating is a great form of political expression – but it shouldn't be an expense required to gain access. When corporations and other organisations donate large sums to political parties it makes the rest of us feel that we can't trust our elected representatives – after all 'he who pays the piper calls the tune'. If people really are passionate about contributing to a party, they would still be able to do so under their own name.
Increasing transparency requirements. We also need to increase transparency of individual donations to make sure corporate money isn't being funnelled through individual donations instead. This means individual donors who give more than a certain threshold (we propose $500) would have to disclose the name of their employer.
Capping individual donations at a reasonable limit. Donating is a legitimate means of political engagement – GetUp is a great example of that. But there should be reasonable limits. Individual donations should be capped at $1,000 a year to prevent anyone having undue influence on our representatives. It's important that we also have strong laws that protect against 'smurfing' – the practice of splitting donations amongst a group of people.
Increase public funding of elections and parties. Parties have become reliant on big donors to fund their campaigns and operations. If we are to eliminate the influence of corporate donations on politics, more public funding will have to be provided to parties. Depending on the system used and the level of funding, this is estimated to cost in the vicinity of $30 million dollars. This may sound like a lot, but international studies have shown that public funding has a positive effect on political competitiveness and decision-making. Given that the policies and private contracts our politicians oversee add up to tens of billions of dollars, we think paying a little more to make sure those decisions are free from undue influence is a good investment.
The legislation required to make this happen will require a lot of thought and research – but the principles are simple. Caps on political donations are working well in other democracies around the world and we deserve no less in Australia.
Donations are a valid and important way of supporting a party you believe in, but when big donors make out cheques for tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars, it undermines our trust in our representatives. Many corporate donors also contribute to both major parties, which seems to indicate that their donations are not ideologically or altruistically intentioned. Indeed one study found that 9 out of the top 10 ASX listed donors gave to both major parties (check out Ramsay, G Stapledon and J Vernon, 'Political Donations by Australian Companies', Federal Law Review, vol. 29, 2001 for more on that). If individuals who own companies really are passionate about contributing to a party, they would still be able to do so under their own name.
It's very important that we don't ban big donations to political parties, only to have them flow to opaque organisations set up to run advertisements on politicians' behalf (such as the infamous Swiftboat Veterans for Truth group in the United States). However these organisations are not a necessary corollary of donation caps. We need to tighten accountability and regulation of all third parties to make sure the system isn't abused. Having the AEC collect information such as a donor's employer will help ensure any abuses of this system are clear. The difficulty in dealing with efforts to circumvent the system should be no barrier to or excuse for us not fixing a broken system by banning corporate donations.
What's good for the goose is good for the gander. Third-party organisations need to be regulated and should not be allowed to donate to political parties. Already GetUp, and other organisations active around elections, have rigorous reporting requirements to both the AEC and ASIC.
Transparency and accountability is the key to ensuring parties don't use other groups to run their campaigns on their behalf.
Transparency and accountability is the key to ensuring parties don't use other groups to run their campaigns on their behalf.
There are plenty of loopholes in the current system, and it's a fair bet that there will be loopholes in future systems too. A similar 'catch all' provision to the tax system that outlaws all arrangements contrived for the purpose of circumventing electoral law could be of assistance in providing the stick necessary to stop invidiuals breaking the law. This isn't the case at the moment – just one more reason why we need a people-powered movement to push for change.
SIGN THE PETITION
Dear Prime Minister, State Premiers and Territory Chief Ministers,
You work for us - put a cap on political donations and ban all corporate and third-party political donations.
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