Trvalý odkaz Pridané používateľom Anonymný (bez overenia) dňa So, 11/30/2024 - 06:56
Do Greens and crossbenchers who claim that transparency and integrity is at the heart of their reason for entering Parliament in the first place hear themselves?<br>
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In the past few days they have mounted self-serving arguments <br>
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against proposed electoral reforms that the major parties look set to come together to support.<br>
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The reforms include caps for how much money wealthy individuals can donate, caps <br>
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on the amount candidates can spend in individual electorates to prevent the equivalent of an arms race, <br>
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and a $90million limit on what any party can spend <br>
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at an election - actually less than the major parties currently spend.<br>
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The proposed new laws also include lower disclosure thresholds for donations, thus <br>
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increasing the transparency of who makes political donations in the first place.<br>
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So the wealthy wont be able to hide behind anonymity while using their cash to influence election outcomes - and the extent <br>
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to which they can use their wealth at all will be limited.<br>
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The bill will further improve transparency by also increasing the speed and frequency that disclosures of donations <br>
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need to be made.<br>
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At present we have the absurd situation in which donations get made - but you only find out the details of who has <br>
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given what to whom many months later, well after elections <br>
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are won and lost.<br>
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In other words, what is broadly being proposed will result in much greater transparency and far less big money being injected into <br>
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campaigning by the wealthy.<br>
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Teal Kylea Tink claimed the major parties were 'running scared' with the policy and warned the reform would 'not stop <br>
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the rot' <br>
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Greens senate leader Larissa Waters (left) fired a warning shot <br>
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- saying if it serves only the major parties 'it's a rort, not reform'. Teal independent ACT senator David <br>
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Pocock (right) said: 'What seems to be happening is a major-party stitch-up'<br>
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Anyone donating more than $1,000 to a political party, as opposed to $16,000 under the current rules, will need to disclose having done so.<br>
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And how much they can donate will be capped.<br>
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Yet the Greens and Teals have quickly condemned the proposed new laws, labeling them a 'stitch-up', 'outrageous' and 'a <br>
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rort, not a reform'. <br>
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They have lost their collective minds after finding out that <br>
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Labor's proposal just might secure the support of the opposition.<br>
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<i><u>I had to double check who was criticising what exactly before even starting to write this column.</u></i><br>
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Because I had assumed - incorrectly - that these important transparency measures stamping out the influence of the wealthy <br>
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must have been proposed by the virtue-signalling Greens or the corruption-fighting Teals, in a united crossbench effort <br>
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to drag the major parties closer to accountability.<br>
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<b>More fool me.</b><br>
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The bill, designed to clean up a rotten system, is being put forward by Labor and <br>
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is opposed by a growing cabal of crossbenchers.<br>
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It makes you wonder what they have to hide. Put simply, the Greens and Teals <br>
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doth protest too much on this issue.<br>
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<u>Labor is thought to be trying to muscle out major political donors such as Clive Palmer</u><br>
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<b>Another potential target of the laws is businessman and Teal funder Simon Holmes à Court</b><br>
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The Greens have taken massive donations in the past, contrary to their irregular calls to <br>
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tighten donations rules (Greens leader Adam Bandt and <br>
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Senator Mehreen Faruqi are pictured)<br>
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The major parties have long complained about the influence the likes of Simon Holmes à Court wields behind the scenes amongst the Teals. <br>
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And we know the Greens have taken massive donations from the wealthy <br>
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in the past, contrary to their irregular calls to tighten donations rules.<br>
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Now that tangible change has been proposed, these bastions of virtue are running a mile from reforms that <br>
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will curtail dark art of political donations.<br>
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The Labor government isn't even seeking for these transparency rules to <br>
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take effect immediately, by the way. It won't be some sort of <br>
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quick-paced power play before the next election designed <br>
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to catch the crossbench out.<br>
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They are aiming for implementation by 2026,<br>
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giving everyone enough time to absorb and understand the changes before preparing for them.<br>
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Don't get me wrong, no deal has yet been done between Labor and the Coalition. I imagine the <br>
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opposition want to go over the laws with a fine tooth <br>
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comb.<br>
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As they should - because it certainly isn't beyond Labor to include hidden one-party advantages in the proposed design which would create loopholes only the unions <br>
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are capable of taking advantage of, therefore disadvantaging the Coalition electorally in the years to come.<br>
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But short of such baked-in trickiness scuttling a deal to get these proposed laws <br>
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implemented, the crossbench should offer their support, not cynical opposition, to what is being advocated for.<br>
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<u><b>They might even be able to offer something worthwhile that could be incorporated in the package.</b></u><br>
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To not do so exposes their utter hypocrisy and blowhard false commentary about being <br>
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in politics to 'clean things up'.<br>
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Do Greens and crossbenchers