Democracy for Sale

 14 January 2010 The Age

In an interview with the investigative journalist Royce Millar, Bob Brown said he believed the machines of the big parties, particularly the Labor Party, had intervened to scupper meaningful electoral reforms.  Mr Brown said if Labor failed to honour its commitment to clean up the electoral system, the Greens would table a bill Federal Parliament seeking to do so.

Electoral reform doomed, say Greens
By ROYCE MILLAR

The Age
14 January 2010

ELECTORAL reform, including tougher controls on political donations and expenditure, is doomed under Kevin Rudd's Labor Government, Greens leader Bob Brown  said last night.

Commenting on yesterday's report in The Age that the Government had backed away from a promised overhaul in its first term, Mr Brown said  change would not happen in a second term, when reforming zeal  tended to give way to caution. ''If it doesn't happen before the election, it won't happen after, except in token form,''  he said.

Mr Brown said if Labor failed to honour its commitment to clean up the electoral system, the Greens would table a bill seeking to do so.

Australia's donation and disclosure rules are lax compared  with countries like Canada, the United States, New Zealand and Britain.

Mr Brown said he believed the machines of the  big parties, particularly the Labor Party, had intervened to scupper meaningful electoral reforms.