Andrew Murray (WA, Australian Democrats) Share this | Hansard source

I am referring to individuals and, as you know, I was a critic of the Centenary House arrangement. Why did Lord Ashcroft make this donation? In my experience, rich people and $1 million do not part that easily. What we do know is that Lord Ashcroft has a widely criticised history of donating large amounts of money to the Tories in Britain. I understand that they were made from a tax haven called Belize, but perhaps that is not an accurate report. It is also reported that he has a history of political donations that prompted and resulted in the banning of foreign donations in the United Kingdom.

Under British law, a donation of more than £200, or $A470, is allowed only if it comes from a person eligible to enrol to vote in Britain or from a registered corporation operating in Britain. A number of other democracies also ban foreign donations, including the United States, New Zealand and Canada. The Australian government, in this debate and in others, is quick to refer to these countries in comparative terms, and I suggest that the government could look at embracing the laws of those countries to ban any foreign influence on domestic politics in our country.

In the United States, it is unlawful for foreign nationals to make donations; United States citizens living abroad can donate. But the fundamental principle that I think should concern us most is that a principle of our electoral funding law is that the Australian Electoral Commission must be able to verify the nature and source of significant political donations. I think offshore based foundations, trusts, clubs or individuals, funded from tax havens, making political donations to Australian politics are a real danger, because those who are behind those entities are often hidden and beyond the reach of Australian law. With those motivating remarks, I do hope that as an integrity measure this amendment of the Democrats gets cross-party support.