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AAP
AAP
Politics
Paul Osborne

Little response to MP donation scheme

Independent Helen Haines is one of 15 out of 227 MPs to respond to a new donation disclosure regime. (AAP)

Fifteen out of 227 federal MPs and senators have responded to a new donation disclosure regime.

The Australian Electoral Commission on Tuesday published the first data from a new scheme legislated in December.

Under the scheme, any MP or senator who receives one or more gifts during a financial year for "federal purposes" must lodge an annual disclosure return.

A "federal purpose" covers electoral expenditure or creating or communicating electoral matters.

Among the 151 federal MPs, seven from Labor, one Liberal National Party and three crossbenchers lodged their details.

The returns from the MPs totalled $94,312 from 345 gifts, with the bulk - $70,066 - disclosed by Victorian independent MP Helen Haines from 282 individual donations.

Queensland LNP MP Andrew Laming disclosed $7500, while WA Labor's Anne Aly revealed $12,481 and Tasmanian independent Andrew Wilkie reported $4265.

The four senators who lodged disclosures were Liberals Concetta Fierravanti-Wells and James McGrath, Labor's Katy Gallagher and the Greens' Peter Whish-Wilson.

But all four senators lodged a nil return.

The AEC said senators and MPs who received no gifts for federal purposes over the financial year did not have to lodge returns.

If information arose that suggested a return should have been lodged but had not, the AEC would follow it up under its compliance function, a spokesman said.

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