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Do Greens and crossbenchers who claim that transparency and integrity <br> <br> is at the heart of their reason for entering Parliament <br> <br> in the first place hear themselves?<br> <br> <br> <br> In the past few days they have mounted self-serving arguments against proposed electoral reforms that the major parties <br> <br> look set to come together to support.<br> <br> <br> <br> The reforms include caps for how much money <br> <br> wealthy individuals can donate, caps on the amount candidates can spend in individual electorates to prevent the equivalent of an arms race,<br> <br> and a $90million limit on what any party can spend at an election - actually <br> <br> less than the major parties currently spend.<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> The proposed new laws also include lower disclosure thresholds for donations, thus increasing <br> <br> the transparency of who makes political donations in the first place.<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> So the wealthy wont be able to hide behind anonymity while using their cash to <br> <br> influence election outcomes - and the extent to which they <br> <br> can use their wealth at all will be limited.<br> <br> <br> <br> The bill will further improve transparency by also increasing the <br> <br> speed and frequency that disclosures of donations <br> <br> need to be made.<br> <br> <br> <br> At present we have the absurd situation in which donations get made - but you only find out the details <br> <br> of who has given what to whom many months later, well after elections are won and lost.<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> In other words, what is broadly being proposed will result in much greater transparency and <br> <br> far less big money being injected into campaigning by the wealthy.<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> Teal Kylea Tink claimed the major parties were 'running scared' with the policy <br> <br> and warned the reform would 'not stop the rot' <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> Greens senate leader Larissa Waters (left) fired a warning shot - saying <br> <br> if it serves only the major parties 'it's <br> <br> a rort, not reform'. Teal independent ACT senator David Pocock (right) said: <br> <br> 'What seems to be happening is a major-party stitch-up'<br> <br> <br> <br> Anyone donating more than $1,000 to a political party, as opposed to $16,000 under the current rules, will need to disclose <br> <br> having done so. And how much they can donate will be capped.<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> Yet the Greens and Teals have quickly condemned the proposed new laws, labeling them a 'stitch-up',<br> <br> 'outrageous' and 'a rort, not a reform'. <br> <br> <br> <br> They have lost their collective minds after finding out that <br> <br> Labor's proposal just might secure the support of the opposition.<br> <br> <br> <br> <b>I had to double check who was criticising what exactly before even starting to write this column.</b><br> <br> <br> <br> Because I had assumed - incorrectly - that these important transparency measures <br> <br> stamping out the influence of the wealthy must have been proposed by the virtue-signalling Greens or the corruption-fighting Teals, in a united crossbench <br> <br> effort to drag the major parties closer to accountability.<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <b><u>More fool me.</u></b><br> <br> <br> <br> The bill, designed to clean up a rotten system, is being put <br> <br> forward by Labor and is opposed by a growing cabal of crossbenchers.<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> It makes you wonder what they have to hide. Put simply, the Greens and <br> <br> Teals doth protest too much on this issue.<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <strong><u>Labor is thought to be trying to muscle out major political donors such as Clive Palmer</u></strong><br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <b>Another potential target of the laws is businessman and Teal funder Simon Holmes à Court</b><br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> The Greens have taken massive donations in the past, contrary to their irregular calls to tighten donations rules (Greens leader Adam Bandt and <br> <br> Senator Mehreen Faruqi are pictured)<br> <br> <br> <br> The major parties have long complained about the <br> <br> influence the likes of Simon Holmes à Court wields behind the scenes amongst the Teals. <br> <br> <br> <br> And we know the Greens have taken massive donations from the <br> <br> wealthy in the past, contrary to their irregular calls to tighten donations rules.<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> Now that tangible change has been proposed, these bastions of virtue are running a mile from reforms <br> <br> that will curtail dark art of political donations.<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> The Labor government isn't even seeking for these transparency rules to take effect <br> <br> immediately, by the way. It won't be some sort of quick-paced power play before the next election designed <br> <br> to catch the crossbench out.<br> <br> <br> <br> They are aiming for implementation by 2026, giving everyone enough time to absorb and understand the <br> <br> changes before preparing for them.<br> <br> <br> <br> Don't get me wrong, no deal has yet been done between Labor and the Coalition. <br> <br> I imagine the opposition want to go over the laws with a fine tooth comb.<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> As they should - because it certainly isn't beyond Labor to include hidden one-party advantages in the proposed design which <br> <br> would create loopholes only the unions are capable of <br> <br> taking advantage of, therefore disadvantaging the Coalition electorally <br> <br> in the years to come.<br> <br> <br> <br> But short of such baked-in trickiness scuttling a deal to get these proposed laws implemented, <br> <br> the crossbench should offer their support, not cynical opposition, to what is being <br> <br> advocated for.<br> <br> <br> <br> <strong>They might even be able to offer something <br> <br> worthwhile that could be incorporated in the package.</strong><br> <br> <br> <br> To not do so exposes their utter hypocrisy and blowhard false commentary about being in politics to 'clean things <br> <br> up'.<br> <br> <br> <br> Review my web site - <a href="https://www.kenpoguy.com/phasickombatives/profile.php?id=2310157">พวงหรีด มีนบุรี</a>
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