Trvalý odkaz Pridané používateľom Anonymný (bez overenia) dňa So, 11/30/2024 - 09:06
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 against proposed electoral reforms that the <br>
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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,<br>
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caps on the amount candidates can spend in individual electorates to <br>
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prevent the equivalent of an arms race, and a $90million limit on what <br>
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any party can spend 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, <br>
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thus 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 to which <br>
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they can use their wealth at all will be limited.<br>
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The bill will further improve transparency by also increasing <br>
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the speed and frequency that disclosures of donations need to be made.<br>
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At present we have the absurd situation in which donations <br>
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get made - but you only find out the details of who has given what to whom many months later, well after elections are <br>
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won and lost.<br>
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In other words, what is broadly being proposed will result in much greater transparency <br>
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and far less big money being injected into campaigning by the wealthy.<br>
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Teal Kylea Tink claimed the major parties were 'running scared' <br>
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with the policy and warned the reform would 'not stop the rot' <br>
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Greens senate leader Larissa Waters (left) fired a warning shot - saying <br>
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if it serves only the major parties 'it's a rort, not reform'. Teal independent ACT senator David Pocock <br>
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(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 <br>
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under the current rules, will need to disclose having done <br>
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so. 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 rort,<br>
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not a reform'. <br>
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They have lost their collective minds after finding out that Labor's proposal just might secure the support of <br>
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the opposition.<br>
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<u><b>I had to double check who was criticising what <br>
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exactly before even starting to write this column.</b></u><br>
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Because I had assumed - incorrectly - that these important <br>
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transparency measures stamping out the influence of the wealthy must have been proposed by <br>
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the virtue-signalling Greens or the corruption-fighting Teals, in a united crossbench effort 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 <br>
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Labor and is opposed by a growing cabal of crossbenchers.<br>
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It makes you wonder what they have to hide. Put simply, <br>
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the Greens and Teals 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 <br>
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Clive Palmer</u><br>
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<u><i>Another potential target of the laws is businessman and Teal <br>
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funder Simon Holmes à Court</i></u><br>
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The Greens have taken massive donations in the <br>
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past, contrary to their irregular calls to tighten donations rules (Greens <br>
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leader Adam Bandt and 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 <br>
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the scenes amongst the Teals. <br>
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And we know the Greens have taken massive donations from the wealthy in the <br>
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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 will <br>
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curtail dark art of political donations.<br>
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The Labor government isn't even seeking for these <br>
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transparency rules to take effect immediately, by the way.<br>
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It won't be some sort of quick-paced power play before the next election designed to catch the crossbench out.<br>
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They are aiming for implementation by 2026, giving everyone enough time to absorb and understand <br>
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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 <br>
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the opposition want to go over the laws with a fine tooth 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 are capable of taking advantage of,<br>
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therefore disadvantaging the Coalition electorally in the years to <br>
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come.<br>
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But short of such baked-in trickiness scuttling a deal to <br>
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get these proposed laws implemented, the crossbench should offer their support, <br>
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not cynical opposition, to what is being advocated for.<br>
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<u><strong>They might even be able to offer something worthwhile that could be incorporated in the package.</strong></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