Ella Haddad MP, Shadow Attorney-General, 15 September 2020
Political donations report must be released
Peter Gutwein is hiding behind the COVID-19 crisis to walk away from his Government’s long-standing promise to reform donation laws.
Shadow Attorney-General Ella Haddad said the Parliament would be given an opportunity tomorrow to vote on a motion calling for the immediate release of a report on reform options.
“Tasmania has the weakest laws on political donation disclosure in the country – an issue acknowledged by former Premier Will Hodgman, who promised to fix these broken laws,” Ms Haddad said.
“But the report on reform options remains on the Attorney General’s desk, where it has been since December.
“This is the trademark secrecy we’ve come to expect from Elise Archer. Unless there is something to hide, why won’t the government release it?
“The government has been sitting on this report for nine months, so for the Premier to claim in Parliament today that he has been too busy with COVID-19 is disingenuous at best.
“With yet another Liberal Party donor awarded an exclusive government contract just last week, Tasmanians rightly are calling out for transparency and donation reform.
“We need a system in place to ensure all Tasmanians know who is donating to political parties and candidates and how much they spend on campaigning.
“Fixing these broken laws is fundamental to our democracy and to restoring trust in politics, which is why we will move a Notice of Motion tomorrow, calling for the report’s release.
“Labor also has a Private Members Bill out for community consultation, which would address many of these issues. If our Bill passes, all donations to political parties, individual MPs and candidates over $1,000 would be disclosed monthly and there would be spending caps on election campaigns.
“This is about cleaning up politics. The public has the right to know who is donating to candidates and how much they spend on their campaigns. If the Premier won’t fix it, the Parliament must.”
Cassy O’Connor MP | Greens Leader, 15 September 2020
In a Worrying Sign, Premier Confesses He Can’t Walk and Chew Gum on Donations Reform
On the International Day of Democracy, Premier Peter Gutwein dismissed public concerns about the need for political donations law reform in Parliament today.
Instead of committing to cleaning up Tasmania’s broken donations framework, the Premier told Parliament he was wholly focussed on the pandemic response.
In the last sitting, Parliament passed contentious Major Projects Legislation. Today, there are four Bills on the order of business – none of which are COVID related.
Tasmanians will be worried if they think their Premier can’t walk and chew gum at the same time.
Transparency and accountability are key to a healthy democracy.
Tasmania’s political donations framework is the weakest in the nation. The case was well and truly made for reform at the last State Election, when millions of dollars in donations went undisclosed
The report of the deliberately narrow review in to Tasmania’s political donations laws has been sitting on the Attorney General’s desk since last December. Why is it gathering dust?
When we asked Premier Gutwein when the report will it be made public, and whether he intended to strengthening Tasmania’s political donation laws, he said he ‘hadn’t turned his mind to it.’
The Attorney has had the report for nine months – well before COVID-19 hit our island state. There is no reason the Gutwein Government cannot release the report and get on with fixing our broken donations laws.
Tasmanians deserve to know who is writing cheques, and why, before they cast their vote on election day. Peter Gutwein must prioritise electoral reforms ahead of the next State Election in the interests of democracy.
