PREMIER STALLS STATE POLITICAL DONATION DISCLOSURE LAWS

Improving Electoral Transparency was Just Another Bartlett Thought-Bubble

www.tas.greens.org.au
The Tasmanian Greens today said that the Premier’s deliberate stalling on state political donations reforms means that Tasmanians will go to the ballot boxes next year not knowing who has donated how much to whom.

Greens Leader Nick McKim said that David Bartlett must explain why his government has stalled this crucial law reform issue for over 18 months since he voted in favour of state based donations disclosure laws.

Mr McKim also said that a tri-partite supported motion referring the implementation of state-based political donation laws to a Joint House Parliamentary Committee had been passed by the Lower House in April last year, but needed the Labor government to bring it on for debate in the Legislative Council before the Committee can commence.

“David Bartlett has deliberately stalled progressing state political donation reform and that means that in March 2010, Tasmanians will go to the ballot box completely in the dark over who has donated how much money to whom,” Mr McKim said.

“In contrast, had Labor progressed the Parliamentary Committee reference through the Upper House 18 months ago, we could have been in the situation where all political donations were declared before election day.”

“So much for the great ‘democratist’. The Greens have always said that the failure to include state-based political donation laws in the Premier’s 10-Point Plan to restore faith in Tasmania’s democracy was a fundamental oversight.”

“This appears to be yet another deception from the thought-bubble Premier who says one thing and then does another on a regular basis.”
Nick McKim MP Greens Leader