Bob Brown (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I also support the amendment. It would be an inquiry into the insidious process of people secretively being able to put large amounts of money into partisan politics without the public being aware of who they are. That is not the spirit of the Electoral Act. It is not the spirit of the development of that act by everybody who has gone before us in developing electoral law in this country. It is not the spirit of the Australian Constitution.

We are an open and liberal democracy. Senator Abetz has talked about the word ‘liberal’ in the 24 hours during which the government has moved to axe the Senate system as we know it and, through this process, is moving to disenfranchise thousands of Australians and to increase the secrecy of the donation system by a quantum leap. This motion should be supported. All it says is: let us have a look at third party donations by secrecy and make sure that we stop undue influence coming through money being channelled into political parties in secret.

Question put:

That the amendment (Senator Milne’s) be agreed to.