Tasmanian politicians could soon be facing much stricter rules on disclosing political donations.
A Greens bill, passed by the lower house with the support of Labor and crossbench MPs, would slash the donation disclosure threshold from $16,900 to $1,000.
This would bring Tasmania’s laws in line with some of the nation’s toughest, a significant change from its current position near the bottom of the scale.
The bill, opposed by the Liberal government, also mandates monthly donation disclosures, increasing to weekly reporting during election periods.
Currently, yearly reporting, based on federal guidelines, is the standard.
While the state recently passed legislation lowering the threshold to $5,000, which comes into effect in July next year, this new bill would supersede it.
“What we’ve seen as a state over many decades is millions of dollars flowing into the Liberal and Labor Party coffers without the majority of the funding sources ever being revealed to Tasmanians,” Greens leader Rosalie Woodruff said.
“And most people in the community understand and agree that that’s not providing a fair playing field for all candidates. It encourages deals that favour donor interests over the public interest.”
Labor MP Rebecca White said she hoped the introduction of the bill “is the start of further reform”.
“I do believe this is again just the next iteration of improvements that we will need to make to Tasmania’s laws around elections in this state,” she said.
Attorney-General Guy Barnett believes the legislation is “not necessary” and would create “a significant administrative burden”.
“Our government considered the current donation disclosure of $5,000 is measured and appropriate,” he said.
“A lower threshold may discourage people from participating in the political process by way of donations.”
The legislation will be considered by the Legislative Council next year.
