Kylea Tink (North Sydney, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I rise in support of the amendments just moved by the honourable member for Indi, because, when all is said and done, she has really hit the mark when it comes to the heart of what is the key issue here. People like myself have copped a lot of criticism in this parliament because of the amount that was spent to see the seat of North Sydney turned Independent. In part, that's because there is no doubt about how much money was spent in North Sydney. The seat is fully accounted for in terms of what was invested. We do not, even under the current system, have the same line of sight when it comes to the major parties. We do not know what the major parties spent to win Macnamara. We do not know what the major parties spent to win in Bradfield. All we know is the combined campaign spending.

I actually find it pretty extraordinary that, when you go to look at the returns during the 2022 election year, there are members currently sitting in seats in this House that have a zero next to their name in terms of how much money was spent in their electorate during the 2022 election. How does that work? What we've seen in what the member for Indi has brought forward here is a complete acknowledgement. We're very happy to see expenditure caps introduced, as long as the expenditure caps are the same for everyone and that the transparency around that expenditure is the same for everyone.

I thank the member for Indi for continuing this fight. She has very clearly articulated the upside of looking at this piece of legislation through what she's proposing. I would welcome the government seriously considering this amendment as a true show of faith that they are looking to create an equal playing field, not just embed a political duopoly.

See this speech in context