John Faulkner (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Cabinet Secretary) Share this | Hansard source

I too will be brief in my comments on this matter. The government has very deliberately provided today this ministerial statement in relation to the Commonwealth Electoral Amendment (Political Donations and Other Measures) Bill 2008 and has very deliberately circulated well in advance of the debate in this chamber the proposed government amendments to the bill. The government has responded to the advisory report of the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters and believes that it is appropriate that this response and the amendments that the government proposes to move to the bill in response to the committee’s report are in fact available not only to senators in this chamber and member of the House but also to political parties and those involved in the political process. I want to ensure that there is ample opportunity for these measures to be fully scrutinised before the bill commences, and I want to ensure that all those involved in the political process have fair warning in terms of the approach the government intends to take.

In relation to the issues raised by Senator Ronaldson, I hate to disappoint him but he is not going to find a flow of correspondence between me and the Australian Electoral Commission on the matter that he has raised. One of the measures contained in the bill relates to the reduction in the current time frame for the lodging of returns from the existing 15-, 16- and 20-week periods to a period of eight weeks. There are new obligations on political parties in relation to these returns. I think that it is appropriate that maximum visibility is provided to political parties in relation to those matters.

The issue of the $50 exception to the prohibition on the acceptance of anonymous gifts is a direct response to the report of the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters. According to my reading of the Hansard and understanding of the committee’s report, the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters has picked up the recommendation of the Democratic Audit of Australia in this regard. I commend this approach to all involved.

The basis of the recommendation was to remove an onerous record-keeping burden in relation to fundraisers, including recording the name and details of each individual donor where only small amounts of money were donated. A lot of the traditional political party activities—we all know what they are like, the raffles, the trivia nights, the street stalls and the like—are what is contemplated here. I think the spirit of the amendments comes from the recommendation of the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters. Again, the parliament and the Senate have full visibility and full transparency in relation to the government’s proposals in this regard.

The other issue that Senator Ronaldson raised relates to the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters recommendations about section 327(2) of the Electoral Act. I think it is important just to put it on the public record that the Australian Electoral Commission have advised that, while they have received several allegations of discrimination over the past 17 years, at no time have they actually received any evidence at all to substantiate such an allegation or been able to refer a matter to the Australian Federal Police for action. In fact, almost all of the allegations were made by persons who had been contacted by the AEC about failing to lodge a required donor return.

I commend the detail of this ministerial statement to the opposition in relation to this particular matter. I clearly acknowledge the fact that the reduced disclosure threshold contained in the bill may result in more donors being identified, but the government will ensure that any claims of discrimination in breach of the requirements of section 327(2) of the Electoral Act are fully and properly investigated by the appropriate authority. But there is simply no evidence to support the changes recommended to establish a new area within the Australian Electoral Commission to deal with such complaints. There needs to be a substantive basis to do this, and frankly the case is nonexistent.

I commend the government’s approach on this to the Senate. There will be ample opportunity over the weeks and months ahead for senators to look closely at the proposed government amendments. It is unusual to have a situation where there is a ministerial statement on such a bill with a change. The other key amendment is a change to the start-up date of 1 July 2009. This gives the government the opportunity to do this not only for the benefit of those who serve in this parliament but also for the benefit of the political parties, who are all impacted by these significant changes to the Electoral Act, which I stress—and this is the key point—are all measures designed to enhance the integrity of our electoral system. They are critically important measures that do just that. I have commended these measures to the Senate before and I will continue to do so. It is important that we ensure that these critical enhancements to the integrity of the Electoral Act and our electoral processes are agreed to by the Senate in the New Year.

Question agreed to.