“Too little, too late”

Helen Kempton |Mercury Newspaper | 14 September 2021   

“Too little, too late” Wilkie writes in his submission to reform Bill

Tasmania’s proposed reform of its political donation laws too weak to see influence of “big money” on local politics reduced, an independent MP claims.

An Independent MP says the proposed reforms to Tasmania political disclosure laws – the weakest in the nation – are too limited to prevent the growing influence of big money on the politics in this State.

In his submission to the Electoral Disclosure and Funding Bill 2021 and the Electoral Matters (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2021, Clark MP Andrew Wilkie called the reforms too little and too late.

Mr Wilkie said the threshold for reporting donations of $5000 was still too high and should be dropped to $1000.

His submission also said the definition of a gift was not broad enough to capture all moneys and gifts in kind from any source.

He said a broader definition would force the Tasmanian Hospitality Association and the Federal Group to reveal their “pro-poker machine campaign expenditure over the $1000 threshold.”

“A $10,000 cap on the total amount a donor can donate during an electoral cycle would prevent the growing influence of big money in politics,” Mr Wilkie said.

Mr Wilkie declares all donations of more than $1000 in real-time and does not accept money from alcohol, tobacco or gambling companies.

His criticism follows similar concerns raised by independent member for Nelson Meg Webb who said the “long-awaited and long-overdue” reforms contained a “disturbing sting in the tail

The government says it is delivering on its commitment to introduce a more transparent and modern political donation disclosure scheme in Tasmania.

But Ms Webb agreed with Mr Wilkie that the threshold should be $1000 not $5000.

The Electoral Act Review Final Report, released in February, stated a threshold of $1000 would be in line with the majority of submitters to the review as well as the general trend in other jurisdictions.

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