Paul Fletcher (Bradfield, Liberal Party, Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts) Share this | Hansard source

I advise the House that the government will not be supporting this amendment. We have not had extensive notice of it, and, on a quick perusal, it's unclear exactly what its effect would be. I note that the effect of proposed section 351A(1) would require that a person, to be the subject of the provision, would need to be both the provider of a large media service and a foreign campaigner. I note that 'foreign campaigner' is not defined in the bill that's been provided, from the research I've been able to do in the available time. I note that 'foreign donor' is a defined term in the Electoral Legislation Amendment (Electoral Funding and Disclosure Reform) Act 2018, but I have not been able to identify a statutory meaning for 'foreign campaigner'. In any event, the government will not be supporting this, on a range of grounds, but principally because its effect is uncertain.

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