Australia lags behind Russia and Thailand but scrapes in ahead of neighbouring Indonesia when it comes to political campaign financing transparency, a global survey has found.
At a time when political donations and the use of parliamentary entitlements have put a spotlight on the use of public money, the research has found Australia ranks 23 out of 54 countries with a score of just 49%.
The study was conducted by an international organisation of 110 political financing experts, the Money, Politics and Transparency project. The report was released this month.
The report ranks countries according to 50 indicators, including whether or not there are caps on public spending and private donations, whether public assets are banned during political campaigns, and how strong reporting requirements are.
The study noted there are few restrictions on political donations in Australia beyond the requirement to declare donations of more than $13,000.
Donations belowthe cut-off figure do not need to be declared and can therefore be anonymous. Donors could logically give less than that to each state, territory and federal branch of a political party at a total value of nearly $117,000, before needing to declare themselves.
Money, Politics and Transparency alsofound there was “no concrete prohibition against the use of state resources in electoral campaigns” and that incumbent MPs and senators often use staff members, cars, offices and travel allowances during election campaigns. Using public resources puts the incumbent at a greater advantage than their competitors, it found.
The report praised the Australian Electoral Commission as “well-respected” and “independent” but said it lacked the “legal authority to impose sanctions, and has not initiated prosecutions of violators in more than seven years”.
Australia scores highly in the public disclosure indicators, however, with the study finding citizens and media outlets had good access to disclosed materials and strong reporting requirements.
On Monday the Coalition ruled out reforming the political donation system, just days after Labor released changes it said would increase transparency and accountability.
Georgia is the highest ranked nation in the report, scoring 79 out of 100, while Malawi is the lowest ranked, scoring just five out of 100.
Australia is ranked at 49%, wedged between Thailand on 50%, Bosnia and Herzegovina on 48%, while Indonesia sits at 47%.
