Pridať nové hodnotenie

Do Greens and crossbenchers who claim that transparency and integrity <br> <br> is at the heart of their reason for entering <br> <br> Parliament in the first place hear themselves?<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> In the past few days they have mounted self-serving arguments against proposed electoral reforms that the major parties look set to come together <br> <br> to support.<br> <br> <br> <br> The reforms include caps for how much money wealthy individuals can donate, caps on the amount candidates can spend in individual electorates to <br> <br> prevent the equivalent of an arms race, and a <br> <br> $90million limit on what any party can spend at an election - actually 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 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 <br> <br> to influence election outcomes - and the extent to which they can use their wealth at all will be limited.<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> The bill will further improve transparency by also increasing the speed and frequency that disclosures <br> <br> of donations 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 <br> <br> the details of who has given what to whom many months later,<br> <br> well after elections are won and lost.<br> <br> <br> <br> In other words, what is broadly being proposed will result in much greater transparency and far <br> <br> 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 <br> <br> policy and warned the reform would 'not stop the <br> <br> 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 <br> <br> - saying if it serves only the major parties 'it's a <br> <br> rort, not reform'. Teal independent ACT senator David Pocock (right) said: 'What seems to <br> <br> 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 <br> <br> need to disclose 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 <br> <br> new laws, labeling them a 'stitch-up', 'outrageous' and 'a rort, <br> <br> not a reform'. <br> <br> <br> <br> They have lost their collective minds after <br> <br> finding out that Labor's proposal just might secure the support of the opposition.<br> <br> <br> <br> I had to double check who was criticising what exactly before even starting to <br> <br> write this column.<br> <br> <br> <br> Because I had assumed - incorrectly - that these important transparency measures stamping out the influence of the wealthy must have <br> <br> been proposed by the virtue-signalling Greens or the corruption-fighting Teals, <br> <br> in a united crossbench effort to drag the major parties closer to accountability.<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> More fool me.<br> <br> <br> <br> The bill, designed to clean up a rotten system, is being <br> <br> put forward by Labor and is opposed by a growing cabal <br> <br> of crossbenchers.<br> <br> <br> <br> It makes you wonder what they have to hide.<br> <br> Put simply, the Greens and Teals doth protest too much on this issue.<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> Labor is thought to be trying to muscle out major political donors <br> <br> such as Clive Palmer<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> Another potential target of the laws is businessman and Teal <br> <br> funder Simon Holmes à Court<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> The Greens have taken massive donations in the <br> <br> past, contrary to their irregular calls to tighten donations <br> <br> rules (Greens leader Adam Bandt and Senator Mehreen Faruqi are pictured)<br> <br> <br> <br> The major parties have long complained about the 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 <br> <br> the 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 <br> <br> of virtue are running a mile from reforms that will curtail dark <br> <br> art of political donations.<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 <br> <br> power play before the next election designed to catch <br> <br> the crossbench out.<br> <br> <br> <br> They are aiming for implementation by 2026, giving everyone enough time <br> <br> to absorb and understand the changes before preparing for them.<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> Don't get me wrong, no deal has yet been done between Labor and the Coalition. I imagine the opposition want to go over the laws with a fine <br> <br> tooth comb.<br> <br> <br> <br> As they should - because it certainly isn't beyond Labor to include hidden one-party advantages in the proposed <br> <br> design which would create loopholes only the unions are capable of taking advantage of, <br> <br> therefore disadvantaging the Coalition electorally in the years to come.<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> But short of such baked-in trickiness scuttling a deal to get these proposed laws implemented, the <br> <br> crossbench should offer their support, not cynical opposition, to what is being advocated <br> <br> for.<br> <br> <br> <br> They might even be able to offer something worthwhile that could be incorporated <br> <br> in the package.<br> <br> <br> <br> To not do so exposes their utter hypocrisy and blowhard <br> <br> false commentary about being in politics to 'clean things up'.<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> Feel free to visit my page - แพ็คเกจ ศรีบุญเรือง - https://Gdesaratov.ru/user/Bailey51N07738/
Hodnotenie: 
3
3 + 14 =