Australia’s political parties have launched a fresh multipartisan attempt to overhaul the political donations and disclosure regime, agreeing to conduct a broadranging review through the joint standing committee on electoral matters.
This year the major parties managed to reach in-principle agreement on banning foreign donations – but fell out over the treatment of third-party activist groups such as GetUp.
Given that voters are highly sensitised about parliamentary perks, and concerned about the deficiencies in the donations disclosure regime, the joint standing committee on electoral matters is attempting to press reset on the debate, and scope out the potential for cross-party agreement on a wider integrity agenda.
The new inquiry will take submissions in September and hold public hearings in October.
In a joint statement, Liberal, Labor and Greens members of the committee made it clear they were trying to land a package of reforms that could be supported by the majority of the parliament.
The chair of the committee, the Liberal senator Linda Reynolds, said the objective was to achieve bipartisanship.
The deputy chair, the Labor MP Andrew Giles, said: “Rebuilding trust in politics is absolutely vital, and a shared responsibility. Reforming political donations is at the very heart of this challenge.”
That sentiment was echoed by the Greens senator Lee Rhiannon. “The potential corrupting influence of political donations must be addressed if we are to restore some public confidence in our democratic institutions.”
The current efforts to examine the donations and disclosure regime began when the government sent a reference to the committee asking it to canvass options for reform of foreign donations in the wake of controversy that erupted over a decision by the Labor senator Sam Dastyari to ask a Chinese businessman to cover a travel overspend.
The government had planned to press ahead with foreign donations reform in the spring session of parliament but that timetable is likely to be delayed by the absence owing to illness of the special minister of state, Scott Ryan.
While the electoral matters committee has now broadened its remit, it is likely conflict will emerge again over the treatment of activist groups.
The government has made it very clear it wants activist groups to be covered by the same curbs and regulations as political parties to avoid the creation of loopholes.
But Labor has argued that bans or restrictions on activist groups could disrupt not-for-profit organisations drawing attention to their causes.
Sensitivities among activist groups are also heightened by a separate Turnbull government process to review their deductible gift recipient status.
