Larissa Waters (Queensland, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

I seek leave to table an explanatory memorandum relating to the bill.

Leave granted.

I table an explanatory memorandum and seek leave to have the second reading speech incorporated in Hansard.

Leave granted.

The speech read as follows—

I welcome the opportunity to introduce this Bill today, and take a step towards cleaning up politics by reducing the influence of big money.

If passed, this Bill would stop the same corporations, and their close associates, who make political donations from putting their hands out for public money in the form of contracts, tenders, grants and approvals. The Bill bans donations to the political party in government, including to a coalition partner, for 12 months before and after any contract is entered into, or tender submission or application is made. It also cancels out any contract, grant, approval, licence, permit or tender that was wrongly awarded and requires that Commonwealth money be repaid.

There has never been a more important time for donations reform. Our democracy is at risk. Public trust in parliament and politicians is at an all-time low, and the community feels less and less confident that their representatives represent them, rather than doing the bidding of their corporate donors.

And it's no wonder. The Big 4 consulting firms donated more than $4.3 million to both sides of politics over 10 years, and secured $8 billion in government contracts over that same time period. That's a pretty good return on investment for the Big 4 consulting firms, and a terrible deal for the rest of us.

Regardless of the source or the amount, the obvious expectation from corporations is that donations will return results for their bottom line. They're buying outcomes. This feeds the public perception that decisions in our parliament are made improperly, with self-interest and the interests of donors and mates consistently overriding the public interest.

In July this year, PwC announced they will no longer make donations to political parties to ensure "the highest standard of governance". But there are three more consultancies in the Big 4. The Big 4 should not be able to further entrench their power and influence over government, and their profit margins, by making political donations, and certainly not when they are tendering for a government contract.

Our current system is one of legalised bribery. The public should not have to rely on corporations choosing to no longer donate to political parties because a scandal exposed corruption and dodgy deals. Money shouldn't be able to buy government contracts, development approvals, political access or political influence. That's not a controversial statement, it's common sense.

And it's a commonly held opinion amongst the people we're supposed to be representing. 74% of Australians support banning political donations from organisations that receive funding from government contracts, including 80% of Coalition voters and 70% of Labor voters.

This isn't rocket science. Donations to political parties shouldn't be able to buy government contracts or grants, and nor should they be able to buy environmental approvals.

Adani and its subsidiaries donated $250,000 to the Coalition in the same financial year as it received final environmental approval for its mega coal mine, including receiving $100,000 of that sum in the month after that final approval was given.

Australians deserve a strong, independent and well-resourced public service that is not hollowed out by voracious private contractors, and that is making decisions in the interests of the community, not vested interests and big donors. It is only when we stop large political donors from using their donations promises to secure favours, like contracts, or approvals, or access to decision makers, that we will see our system work in the public interest.

The Bill seeks to level the playing field and avoid those with more money gaining unequal access to government. It does so by strengthening the integrity of grants administration, tendering and procurement processes, and assessment of lucrative projects.

These amendments will prevent donations from influencing the allocation of government funds or securing project approvals. This is needed to increase public confidence that decisions regarding allocation of government resources are actually guided by the public interest.

The 2022 election results confirmed that the Australian public want a more transparent and representative government that acts in the public interest. This bill is an important first step towards getting big money out of politics and restoring public confidence in our democracy.

If Australia's biggest consulting company has recognised the perceived corruption by stopping all political donations so should Labor and the LNP. It's time to break all the links. Let's come together to ensure politicians work in the public interest, not the interest of their donor mates.

I commend the Bill to the Senate.

I seek leave to continue my remarks later.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.