Government corruption and the local government referendum

(1) make, vary or administer any arrangement by which public money is paid out by the Commonwealth;

(2) grant financial assistance to any person whatsoever; and

(3) enter into whatever future programs it wished.

So long as expenditure falls under one of a broad range of existing descriptions or a new regulation, the Executive could pay out vast amounts of our money without Parliamentary supervision.

This was legislation no democratically elected Parliament should pass, but ours did. What's more, politicians of all colours; red, blue, green and independent share responsibility.

If ever there was a time to run from the House, complain loudly about mismanagement or make a stand on principle this was it. But, despite some ineffectual protests from the opposition, there was just no one left to keep the bastards honest.

Normally reserved legal scholars have roundly condemned Parliament for agreeing to the Bill, so I won't revisit that issue. Suffice to say that, if actions speak louder than words, our elected representatives have told us they're not fit to wield the powers they already have. So why would we give them more?

Which brings us to the perfect pork barrel.

The risk of corruption, mismanagement and waste in government has increased sharply now the Executive can decide how to spend vast amounts of public money without effective Parliamentary scrutiny. But some restrictions do remain.

One of these is section 96 of the Constitution, the same section we're being asked to change. S 96 prevents the Commonwealth from directly funding local authorities by requiring it to provide funding to the States. That doesn't mean Commonwealth money can't go to local authorities. Only that States generally administer and negotiate grants, which limits the ability of both to misuse funds.

But even that control would vanish if the referendum succeeded, allowing the Executive to direct funding to local authorities on whatever terms it desired.

Should we believe that future Executives will all wield this power in the best interest of the nation? Or should we suspect it might be misused by self interested politicians to target marginal electorates and keep themselves in power? A financial gerrymander if you will.