Democracy for Sale

2 January 2010  Sydney Morning Herald

The NSW government wants the current parliamentary review of campaign funding completed by March so that legislation can be prepared in time for the election next year.  However, the NSW Electoral Commissioner Colin Barry has warned that a more substantial review was necessary, and this could not be done quickly.

Since there was a comprehensive inquiry into electoral funding reform in NSW last year, much of the work has been done.  Greens MP Lee Rhiannon urges the NSW government to push ahead for reform.  She says that voters see corporate donations as a corrupting influence and reform is crucial before the 2011 state election.

20 December 2009

Josh Gordon of The Sunday Age explores the need for major reform of the electoral funding laws. The Sunday Age reported last week that Labor had already drafted legislation to introduce reforms based on changes introduced in Canada and New Zealand. Both major parties agree there is a need for this reform, but the plan has become bogged down.

So what's the hold-up? The major sticking point is that the Federal Opposition wants union affiliation fees included in the definition of ''donation''.   But unions fear that if they lose the ability to pay Labor such fees - which are said to account for up to 70 per cent of the cost of running some state branches - they will be disenfranchised and eventually lose political influence within the party.

18 December 2009

The large donor developer Buildev plans to build thousands of homes on a historic farming site in North Richmond on the edge of Sydney.  ABC TV's 7:30 Report examines the famous farmland that will soon be lost.  Lee Rhiannon spoke in Parliament about the problems with the approval process that will lead to the loss of more valuable farmland in the Sydney basin, as well as the previous item on Liberal Cr Shayne Mallard.  Read Ms Rhiannon's speech in Hansard or under Read More.

17 December 2009

City of Sydney councillor Shayne Mallard has been referred to the NSW Election Funding Authority for a possible beach of the electoral law over the Sydney Liberal team's campaign office during the 2008 local government election.   Today's City News investigates the entire issue of Mallard's use of an office at Matrix Corporate Marketing in the lead up to the election.