Kim Booth: Hodgman must rule out receiving any dodgy donations

Greens Leader Kim Booth MP today called on the Liberal Premier Will Hodgman to rule out his party, or any of the Liberal candidates, from receiving any donatiosn from the two Associated Entities currently under investigation by the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption.

“I’m calling on Liberal Premier Will Hodgman to reassure the Tasmanian public that neither his party nor any of the Liberal candidates have received funds from either of these two organisations.”

“Claims were made at the ICAC hearing yesterday of a ‘systematic ¬subversion of NSW electoral funding laws’ through Associated Entities EightByFive and Free Enterprise Foundation. The reach of these organisations is wide with former Tasmanian timber company donating $20,000 to Free Enterprise Foundation in 2007,” Mr Booth said.

“Currently, Tasmanians would have no idea whether the Tasmanian Liberal party had received funding from these two organisatiosni because of the weakness of our political donation laws.”

“This also brings into focus the need for real time actual disclosure as well as a cap on expenditure.”

“The Liberal party spent an absolute fortune on the Tasmanian election.”

“The Liberals also deliberately frustrated attempts by parliament to bring in a cap on donations, by effectively preventing the passage of the bill to allow the Legislative Council to debate it.”

“The shocking ICAC revelations now raise a question mark over why the Liberals blocked a bill to cap expenditure.”

“There have been candidates whom were able to campaign in the same way as those revealed in evidence before ICAC and Premier Hodgman should step up to the plate and rule out any Tasmanian candidates, State or Federal, receiving money from what can only be described as dodgy sources.”
Kim Booth MP | Greens Leader