Tim Ayres (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Trade) Share this | Hansard source

I'm aware a number of senators want to make contributions about this, but I want to set out the government's approach to this issue and make a couple of comments. The Electoral Legislation Amendment (Fair and Transparent Elections) Bill 2024 (No. 2) proposes amendments to the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918, which is the legislation that, for most of the period of Federation, has governed our elections and political system. I listened carefully to Senator Pocock's contribution, and there is much of it that I agree with. Much of it goes to the same issues that the minister has been engaged in discussions about with parties and members and senators across the parliament.

I do say, though, that self-interest is not monopolised by the political parties; self-interest is also a feature of the way that Independents engage with this process. We ought to be honest about that. Everybody has their own interest in this process, including Senator Pocock and his crossbench colleagues. There is nothing wrong with having a set of interests that are prosecuted in this, but it is always better when that is articulated clearly and sits alongside a conception of what the public interest and the national interest are. There's nothing wrong, as I say, with self-interest.

There is also nothing wrong with people making donations into the electoral system or spending money in the electoral system, subject to some of the transparency considerations that I'll deal with in a moment. Indeed, Senator Pocock's electoral campaign for the Senate in the ACT was a $1.8 million campaign. That is extraordinary expenditure in an ACT campaign. That is just the fact.