Political parties would face a cap on how much they can spend during an election campaign under a suite of measures being considered by the Albanese government to overhaul the nation’s electoral funding laws. | Anthony Galloway
including measures to force politicians to declare political donations over $1000 in real time and “truth in political advertising” laws.
He also asked the committee to look at measures to increase electoral participation and lift enfranchisement of indigenous Australians. In recent years both major parties have been criticised for scare campaigns. In 2016, Labor claimed that the Coalition was going to privatise Medicare, which wasn’t its policy. The Coalition later claimed Labor was going to introduce a “death tax” despite having no such policies.
The inquiry has received over 200 submissions calling for an overhaul of political donations, including caps on either donations or spending. “I am dismayed by how wealthy individuals and organisations can influence our democratic process by making large donations, or providing biased advertisements pushing their own interests,” another submission read.