Greens and independents say bill to introduce spending and donation caps risks crowding out new challengers
Don Farrell has signalled Labor’s stalled overhaul to electoral reforms will be voted on in the next 24 hours, as the crossbench braces for a major party “stitch-up” to introduce spending and donation caps.
The special minister of state told party MPs on Tuesday morning that parliament will decide whether Australia wants “billionaires to determine” who gets into power before the end of the sitting week.
The Greens and crossbenchers believed the major parties had struck a deal on Tuesday morning, suggesting the new agreement would increase individual donation caps from $20,000 to $40,000, and the disclosure threshold could be raised from $1,000 to $5,000.
Under the current proposal, each electorate and independent candidate would have a total cap of $800,000, while a federal political party would have a campaign cap of $90m. The current proposal would also cap individual donations or gifts at $20,000.
The disclosure threshold, which sits at $16,900 for 2024-25, would also be lowered to $1,000.
Farrell had been angling for an agreement with Peter Dutton’s opposition on laws to curb the influence of big money in politics over months they were first announced in November.
Dutton declined to confirm whether a deal had been agreed on, saying discussions with Labor were still ongoing as of Tuesday morning.
“We have been conducting good-faith negotiations with the government and that continues on,” he said.
The Greens accused the major parties of “rigging the system to lock out their competitors”, accusing the government of lacking “genuine engagement” with independents and minor parties.
Independent incumbents have been critical about the bill’s current form, warning that the spending limit would crowd out new independent challengers.
Teal MP Kate Chaney, who was elected in 2022 after raising $1.3m for her campaign, previously said that a new independent would have an $800,000 campaign spending cap, “it appears that each political party can spend $90m, shifting that money around to support any member who is being threatened by a newcomer”.
Greens senator Larissa Waters accused the major parties of voting last Thursday against an inquiry into the funding implications of the bill as part of a “dirty deal to benefit themselves”.
“The Greens and the public want reforms that will kick big money out of politics and put democracy back in the hands of the people, not big corporate donors,” she said.
“A stitch-up by the two big parties to hamper the electoral chances of their competitors is a cynical move at best.”