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'Reforms' to the political donation rules must be overturned

By Lee Rhiannon and Norman Thompson - posted Thursday, 22 November 2007


The money flowing to the National Party in NSW comes mainly from organisations within the party that the Australian Electoral Commission (ACE) investigated for over two years to see if they were associated entities (front organisations that operate mainly or entirely for the benefit of a political party).

In 2005 the AEC decided they didn’t fit the definition under the electoral law. However, these organisations are very closely aligned with the party and are major sources of funds for the Nationals. We label them "Political Party Affiliates". They include the National Free Enterprise Foundation, Comserv (No 2092) Pty Ltd, National Building Foundation and Centralised Deposits Foundation.

In 2004-05 the Nationals reported 148 contributions of $1,500 or more. Only 16 (11 per cent) of these contributors would have been identified if the threshold had been $10,500. Almost all of these were "political party affiliates".

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These organisations poured a considerable amount of money into the National’s coffers. Of the more than $1.3 million the party received in 2004-05, sixty-three per cent would be identified with 37 per cent hidden from public view. Only five companies would have been identified – one of the late Kenneth Parker's private companies (Parker was a close associate of Kerry Stokes), an investment company, Manildra, the Ricegrowers Co-op and Sydney Markets Ltd. All of the "small" donors would be hidden.

The purpose of the Howard government's "reform" of the electoral system in 2005 was clearly a bid to hide donors from the public gaze. This is a backwards step that is an affront to the Australian public.

These "reforms" must be overturned.

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About the Authors

Lee Rhiannon MLC is a former Greens member of the NSW Legislative Council and is running in the 2010 Federal Election as the NSW Greens Senate candidate.

Norman Thompson is the Democracy4Sale research co-ordinator. He has previously held positions at the University of Pennsylvania, University of Cambridge and Macquarie University.

Other articles by these Authors

All articles by Lee Rhiannon
All articles by Norman Thompson

Creative Commons LicenseThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

Photo of Lee RhiannonLee RhiannonPhoto of Norman ThompsonNorman Thompson
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