Flaws in the current system mean that some donations take over 18 months to be disclosed - if they are disclosed at all.
Parliament could pass legislation improving transparency and disclosure while sending the more controversial and untested aspects of the Albanese Government's Electoral Reform Bill to inquiry, the Australia Institute finds in analysis published today.
Key findings:
- The Albanese Government is rushing major changes to electoral law, which four in five Australians (81%) agree should first be reviewed by a multi-party committee.
- The proposed donation cap of $20,000 per donor per year is effectively $180,000 per donor per year for the Labor Party, $160,000 for the Liberal Party and $100,000 for the Greens and Nationals.
- The nominated entity exception to donation caps intended for the major parties may, in practice, allow a billionaire-funded minor party to escape spending limits.
- There are three loopholes in the per-seat spending cap that political parties could take advantage of to outspend an independent candidate several times over.
- In exchange for having their fundraising limited, established parties and incumbent MPs would receive tens of millions of dollars more in public funding; in some cases, far more than the political donations that they are missing out on. Independent candidates, new parties, their candidates, and all political campaigners, would receive nothing to compensate them for lost revenue.
"Once again, the mass release of political donations data highlights the lack of transparency and integrity in Australian politics," said Bill Browne, Director of the Australia Institute's Democracy & Accountability Program.
"The Government has bundled uncontroversial improvements to political disclosure laws with untested and unfair spending and donation caps, the burden of which will fall more heavily on new entrants and smaller parties than major parties and incumbents.
"Better donation disclosure laws and truth in political advertising are tried and tested policies, and could be passed next week, while changes that could make Australian elections less competitive are sent to a parliamentary inquiry.
"Politicians voting together to give political parties more money will reduce trust in government unless the public is included in the process.
"Australia Institute analysis suggests that loopholes in the Government's donation cap regime designed to benefit the major parties could also leave wealthy billionaires free to spend tens of millions of dollars on Australian elections.
