Do Greens and crossbenchers who claim that <br>
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transparency and integrity is at the heart of their reason for <br>
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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 major <br>
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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 prevent the equivalent of an arms race, and a $90million limit on what 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 <br>
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for donations, thus increasing the transparency of who makes political <br>
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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 they can use their wealth at all <br>
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will be limited.<br>
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The bill will further improve transparency by also increasing the speed and frequency that disclosures <br>
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of donations 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 <br>
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the details of who has given what to whom many months later, <br>
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well after elections are won and lost.<br>
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In other words, what is broadly being proposed will result in much <br>
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greater transparency and far less big money being injected into campaigning <br>
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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 the rot' <br>
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Greens senate leader Larissa Waters (left) fired a warning shot - saying if it serves only the <br>
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major parties 'it's a rort, not reform'. Teal <br>
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independent ACT senator David 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 <br>
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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 <br>
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laws, labeling them a 'stitch-up', 'outrageous' and 'a rort, not a reform'. <br>
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They have lost their collective minds after finding out that Labor's <br>
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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 <br>
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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 the wealthy must have been proposed by the virtue-signalling Greens or <br>
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the corruption-fighting Teals, in a united crossbench effort to drag the major <br>
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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 put forward <br>
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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.<br>
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Put simply, the Greens and Teals doth protest too much on this <br>
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issue.<br>
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Labor is thought to be trying to muscle out major political donors such 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 <br>
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calls to tighten donations rules (Greens leader Adam Bandt and Senator Mehreen Faruqi are <br>
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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 <br>
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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 <br>
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virtue are running a mile from reforms that will curtail <br>
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dark art of political donations.<br>
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The Labor government isn't even seeking for these transparency <br>
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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 <br>
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the next election designed to catch the crossbench out.<br>
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They are aiming for implementation by 2026, giving <br>
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everyone enough time to absorb and understand the changes <br>
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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 <br>
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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 <br>
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in the proposed design which would create loopholes only the unions <br>
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are capable of taking advantage of, therefore disadvantaging <br>
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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 being advocated for.<br>
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They might even be able to offer something worthwhile <br>
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that could be incorporated in the package.<br>
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To not do so exposes their utter hypocrisy and blowhard false <br>
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commentary about being in politics to 'clean things up'.<br>
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Also visit my web-site; ภาพพวงหรีดงานศพ - https://online-Learning-Initiative.org/wiki/index.php/User:ClarkPetrie871
Do Greens and crossbenchers