Don Farrell (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Trade and Tourism) Share this | Hansard source

Do you want the answer?

Alright, I'll withdraw. Let's deal with a few of the issues that you raised in your question. The unions are going to be subject to the same rules as everybody else—in particular, all of the disclosure requirements. In other words, if they donate more than $5,000, they're going to be required to declare that donation. In the course of the election, they're going to have to reveal those donations, so that, when you go to the ballot box, you will know whether a union has donated to a particular candidate. This is the first time in our history that that sort of disclosure is going to be made available to Australian voters. That's a really, really significant step forward in the democratic process.

You talk about the $90 million. Yes, it's true; there is a total cap. Elections don't cost nothing; elections cost something. My objective with this legislation is to put downward pressure on the total cost of the election, but political parties and individuals do have to spend money in order to get their message out. If they want to get their message out to people, then they're going to have to spend some money. That's just the way things work. What we've done in this legislation is—voluntarily, by virtue of a piece of legislation—cut back how much the major political parties can spend on elections. For the first time since Federation, the first time in 125 years, there's going to be a cap on how much political parties can spend. I say that's a good thing, not a bad thing, Senator Hanson. I say it's a good thing—

Honourable senators interjecting—

And others, as—

Honourable senators interjecting—

No, it's not just about Clive Palmer. Of course, he donated $117 million at the last election. We're putting downward pressure on the cost. I say to the people you're directing your question at that that's a good thing. It's going to cost less to get elected to parliament. If you're a new party or an Independent, you're going to have to spend a damn sight less than you used to.

All of these disclosure rules that we're introducing—firstly, there are a couple of things about them. They're going to take some time to implement. You can't just click your fingers and make all these changes, because the changes are so significant. There is a cost to them as well. The small number of extra payments that are made either to candidates or to political parties, I say, is worth the price of improving our democracy. Our democracy is going to be improved by this legislation, Senator Hanson. I am personally disappointed, given the amount of time that I spent in your office going through this legislation, and I was unimpressed by how you spoke to some of my staff. If you're looking at getting apologies, then maybe an apology to my staff would be appropriate, Senator Hanson. We came to your office to genuinely engage with you, as I've done with anybody who's wanted to have that discussion with me. I have directly answered every point that you have asked. You may not necessarily like the answers, but this is the truth of it: this is good legislation that's going to be good for democracy in our country. I'd ask everybody in this place to vote for it.