Don Farrell (SA, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for the Centenary of ANZAC) Share this | Link to 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 am pleased to introduce this legislation, which demonstrates the commitment by the Australian Labor Party to vital reforms in the area of political donations, disclosure, and election funding. On behalf of the Opposition, I have presented these changes to amend the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 (the Electoral Act) and reform Australia's electoral laws in line with clear and unambiguous public expectation.

The measures contained in the presented Bill seek to deal with four key issues surrounding the conduct of electoral fundraising and expenditure.

Primarily, the Bill seeks to address the intricate issue of receipt of gifts and donations from foreign entities. This has been an issue that has attracted widespread public attention, and it is clear the public want this Parliament to act. The amendments presented in this Bill seek to make it unlawful for candidates, registered political parties, and members of Senate groups to accept donations or gifts identified as foreign property.

The amendments presented in this Bill also make it unlawful for persons or entities to receive overseas or foreign gifts that are used solely or substantially to incur political expenditure. In addition, this Bill seeks to extend the prohibition on anonymous gifts to associated entities and third parties, with the intent of ensuring disclosure is not avoided through such entities.

This Bill seeks to ensure the source of all political donations which could affect political decision-making are clearly identified, the public in turn can scrutinise the receipt of such donations and any possible effect on decision-making, and the Australian Electoral Commission has authority and jurisdiction over all such matters.

Secondly, this Bill addresses the long overdue need to reduce the amount of donations where the identity of the donor remains anonymous from a threshold of "more than $10,000" (indexed annually to CPI) just down to $1,000. The Opposition believe that once an organisation is paying more than $1,000 their identity should no longer remain anonymous.

Thirdly, this Bill seeks to close a loophole in the current Electoral Act, where entities may be avoiding disclosure regulations by making donations to various branches and divisions of the same political party in an effort to remain under the disclosure threshold for each donation. This Bill would ensure those branches and divisions are considered as the same political entity for the purpose of the disclosure requirements.

The fourth and final key issue addressed in this Bill is the prevention of the current possibility of candidates and groups obtaining windfall payments of electoral funding as a result of standing for election or political office. The intention of these measures is to link the payment of electoral funding to the political expenditure incurred by that party, candidate, or group. This therefore would seek to ensure that election funding is used for its intended purpose of communicating with the public and the Australian electorate.

To ensure that these four issues can be addressed to the satisfaction and confidence of the public, this Bill seeks to extend penalties and offences under the Electoral Act to encourage compliance. This reflects the need to demonstrate to the public and political entities the very serious nature of political integrity, and to inspire faith and confidence in our democratic institutions.

The Labor Opposition is committed to ensuring transparency and accountability throughout our political system, and the measures outlined in this Bill address those matters which undermine public confidence in our great democracy.

I commend the Bill.

I seek leave to continue my remarks later.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.