Trvalý odkaz Pridané používateľom Anonymný (bez overenia) dňa So, 12/14/2024 - 12:45
Do Greens and crossbenchers who claim that transparency and integrity is <br>
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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 <br>
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reforms that the major parties look set to <br>
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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 prevent the equivalent of an arms <br>
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race, and a $90million limit on what any party can spend at an election - actually less than the major <br>
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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 <br>
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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 - <br>
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and the extent 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 <br>
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increasing the speed and frequency that disclosures of donations need <br>
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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 are won and lost.<br>
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In other words, what is broadly being proposed will result in much greater <br>
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transparency and far less big money being injected into campaigning by <br>
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the wealthy.<br>
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Teal Kylea Tink claimed the major parties were 'running scared' with the policy and warned <br>
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the reform would 'not stop the rot' <br>
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Greens senate leader Larissa Waters (left) fired a warning shot - saying if it serves <br>
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only the major parties 'it's a rort, not reform'. Teal <br>
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independent ACT senator David Pocock (right) said:<br>
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'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 <br>
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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 <br>
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proposed new laws, labeling them a 'stitch-up', 'outrageous' <br>
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and 'a rort, 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 the opposition.<br>
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I had to double check who was criticising what exactly before even starting to write this column.<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 <br>
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the wealthy must have been proposed by the virtue-signalling Greens or the corruption-fighting Teals, in a united crossbench <br>
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effort to drag the major parties closer to accountability.<br>
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More fool me.<br>
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The bill, designed to clean up a rotten system, is being <br>
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put forward by 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, the Greens and Teals doth <br>
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protest too much on this issue.<br>
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Labor is thought to be trying to muscle out major political donors such <br>
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as Clive Palmer<br>
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Another potential target of the laws is businessman and Teal <br>
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funder Simon Holmes à Court<br>
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The Greens have taken massive donations in the 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 <br>
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influence the likes of Simon Holmes à Court wields behind the scenes <br>
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amongst the Teals. <br>
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And we know the Greens have taken massive donations from the wealthy 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 <br>
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a mile from reforms that will curtail dark art of political donations.<br>
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The Labor government isn't even seeking for these transparency rules to take effect immediately, by <br>
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the way. It won't be some sort of quick-paced power play <br>
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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 <br>
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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 opposition want to go over <br>
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the laws with a fine tooth comb.<br>
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As they should - because it certainly isn't beyond Labor to include <br>
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hidden one-party advantages in the proposed design which would create loopholes only the unions are <br>
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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 implemented, <br>
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the crossbench should offer their support, not cynical opposition, to what is <br>
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being advocated for.<br>
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They might even be able to offer something worthwhile that could be <br>
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incorporated in the package.<br>
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To not do so exposes their utter hypocrisy and blowhard false commentary about being in politics to 'clean things up'.<br>
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Do Greens and crossbenchers