Page 4156 - Week 13 - Thursday, 27 November 2014
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
Removing the aggregation provisions will not result in reduced transparency. Associated entities, party groupings, non-party MLA groupings and third parties will still be subject to electoral expenditure caps and will still be required to give the Electoral Commissioner a return stating details of their expenditure.
In addition to lowering the expenditure cap and removing the limit on donations, the government proposes that public funding of elections be increased from $2 to $8 per eligible vote. The government agrees with the select committee’s conclusions that full public funding of elections would not be an appropriate way of achieving greater involvement of minor parties.
Instead, increasing the amount payable per eligible vote will help to level the playing field between the various parties and individual candidates, thereby allowing more meaningful exposure of candidates’ election platforms and better informing voters. Removing the limit on donations means there is no longer any need for an ACT election account or another separately identified account or sub-account. Therefore, the bill removes the requirements for a separate ACT election fund.
The bill makes a number of amendments designed to improve the reporting process without reducing the level of accountability or transparency. The first of these is amending the period for lodgement of returns of gifts to require quarterly reporting, with more frequent reporting for the two quarters leading up to an ACT election. This amendment acknowledges the onerous nature of the current reporting requirements and aligns the requirements under the act with current business reporting requirements.
The bill also clarifies the position of reporting agents, providing for the appointment of only one reporting agent at a time. This will remove any ambiguity about responsibility for reporting, which may exist if two or more reporting agents are appointed. The bill also includes measures intended to protect the personal details of individuals who make donations, again without compromising the transparency of donations.
To achieve this, the bill amends section 243A to specify that the Electoral Commissioner must not publish the full private address details of an individual who has made a donation. The person’s name and suburb, or a post office box if provided, will be sufficient to comply with the act. To maintain transparency, the amendment provides that details will be available for public inspection at the Electoral Commission’s office.
The bill also brings the authorisation requirements into the technological age, exempting private unpaid commentary on social media from authorisation requirements. This recommendation by the select committee reflects changes in technology and addresses the difficulties of enforcing existing requirements in this area.
The bill amends the provisions relating to anonymous gifts of up to $1,000, removing the concept of a “small anonymous gift” and importing consistency to this area of the legislation.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video