The Ultimate Stitch-Up - November 2024

Major Parties Want to Use YOUR Money to Keep Themselves in Power

This week, Labor and the Coalition are ramming a Bill through Parliament that will siphon millions of extra taxpayer dollars into their own pockets and lock out future political competition for decades.

These so-called ‘electoral reforms’ are the ultimate stitch-up, funnelling millions of voters’ hard-earned dollars into big party political campaigns — while cutting off funding for independent and minor party contenders.

Support for the major parties has been declining steadily, and at the last election a third of all Australians voted for independents or minor parties. The major parties are now machines designed to win, not to lead.

Competition is good for democracy – just like it’s good for airlines and supermarkets – but we don’t let Coles and Woolies make laws about how supermarkets compete!

Labor and Liberal think they can hoodwink voters and protect their dominance by changing the rules to suit themselves.

Some of the reforms Labor is proposing to the Electoral Act are long-overdue, common-sense measures that should have been in place years ago.

I’ve worked hard for greater political transparency and disclose every donation I receive in real time – because people should know who’s funding political candidates before they vote.

There’s also a strong case for implementing donation caps — no individual or company should wield disproportionate influence over elections. While we can debate the right limit, it’s clear that having some form of cap is a sensible step toward fairer elections.

But these good changes are being used as an excuse to slip through some big, dodgy changes:

• A $5 per vote taxpayer payment to incumbent politicians that locks out new challengers

• New ‘admin funding’ of $17 million per term that’s not linked to actual admin costs

• Rushing the biggest change to elections in 40 years through Parliament with zero scrutiny

Liberals are in step with Labor to rush this Bill through, while refusing to support the recommendations on truth in political advertising.

This tells us everything we need to know.

If the major parties want to win back votes, they should offer better leadership, not rig the rules in their own favour and stifle competitors.

Australians deserve better.