Greens to support election spending cap

The Tasmanian Greens Leader Nick McKim MP today welcomed the Attorney General’s commitment to deliver a long-awaited cap on electoral expenditure by political parties and candidates.

“Elections should be a contest of ideas, not a contest of who can spend the most money on advertising,” Mr McKim said.

“After persistent pressure from the Greens, the Attorney General released a discussion paper on political donation reforms nearly two years ago. Any suggestion this has been rushed is nonsense.”

“If Liberals are concerned about a limit on election spending, it just confirms that their only election strategy is to bombard voters with glossy pamphlets, television ads and billboards.”

“If it is good enough for Legislative Councillors to abide by a cap on election spending, it should be good enough for the House of Assembly.”

“A cap on election spending is a good start, but it’s certainly not the end of the story.”

“Tasmania remains one of the few states without specific state-based political donations disclosure laws.”

“The Greens have been campaigning for electoral donation reform for many years, including a cap on spending and the real time disclosure of political donations.”

“The public’s confidence in the electoral system can only be strengthened by greater transparency.”
Nick McKim MP Greens Leader