2018 Electoral Legislation Amendment (Electoral Funding and Disclosure Reform) Bill Inquiry
On the 25th of January, Isabelle Hughes, our Policy Intern, produced a policy submission in response to the proposed changes contained in the Electoral Funding and Disclosure Reform Bill 2017.
In this submission we focused on the role that our current donation laws play in maintaining Australia’s masculinist political culture and in weakening the central democratic principle of serving all citizens.
We argued that significant reform will be required to restore trust in Australia’s parliamentary system and ensure that our democracy is healthy. We highlighted that the proposed changes in the Bill were not enough to ensure that Australia’s democracy was representative, diverse, transparent and robust.
We also advocated on behalf of the charity and not-for-profit sector, which was unfairly targeted by the proposed changes under the guise of ‘reducing foreign influence’.
We were quick to highlight that the Bill worked to silence organistions that often advocate on behalf of society’s most vulnerable rather than target the powerful individuals and corporations who exploit our current laws to wield disproportionate political influence.
We concluded that in order to end Australia’s self-perpetuating masculinist political culture, and to ensure that women, ethnic minorities, average income earners, and young Australians feel represented by their leaders, significant reforms must be implemented to prevent powerful lobbies from skewing policy outcomes.
You can find out more about the Inquiry here.
Click on the button below if you would like to download a copy of our submission.
