Commonwealth Campaign Finance Reform

QCCL President Michael Cope says. “The right to vote, is arguably the most important right that any of us holds. Discussion of public issues and debate on the suitability of candidates is fundamental to the exercise of that right. It is also important, that as far as practicable, every person’s vote is equal in value.”

The right to make a donation to the political party or organisation of your choice, is an aspect of the right to freedom of association. Freedom of speech would be practically meaningless without freedom of association since effective participation in the political process depends on the capacity for individuals to associate with one another for the advancement of their political beliefs and ideas. Hence, freedom of speech is indirectly impacted by controls on political donations.

A law which restricts the amounts which can be spent on political communication, must be a burden on freedom of speech.

“The QCCL has long supported a broad right to freedom of speech and freedom of association. However, no one maintains, that either of these rights is absolute. Interference with those rights may be justified where the state can demonstrate a sufficiently important interest it needs to protect, and it uses means to secure those interests that do not unnecessarily restrict those freedoms.”

In this particular case the interest is clear- that elections are free and fair.

In the case of political finance two particular problems can arise. Firstly, to the extent that large contributions are given to secure a political quid pro quo from current and potential office holders, the integrity of our system of representative government is undermined. The second, is the impact of the appearance of corruption stemming from public awareness of the opportunity for abuse inherent in a regime of large financial contributions. The avoidance of the appearance of improper influence is critical to the maintenance of confidence in the system of representative government.

In the context of political speech, a further consideration is that of fairness. Each citizen must have a fair opportunity to hold public office and to influence the outcome of political decisions. This is because equal participation is essential if people are to accept the outcomes of the political process i.e. the laws that govern them

Other considerations that come into play in considering a system to regulate political donations and expenditure include privacy and avoiding a situation where new entrants into the political system are excluded.

Mr Cope said, “In our view the best way to accommodate the at times conflicting interests set out above is to impose expenditure limits on political parties and candidates.”

“Restrictions on political expenditure are plainly restrictions on freedom of speech. However, restrictions on electoral expenditure are akin to the rules of debate in a meeting which restrict the length of speeches and provide for rights of reply. This feature of expenditure caps makes them more acceptable than donation bans or caps.”

In the context of political speech, the restrictions are essential to fairness, in that, the arms race between various political players is continuously increasing the cost of elections, which must necessarily result in an increasing number of people being excluded from the political process. Capping expenditure would also help to create closer financial equality between candidates at elections.

A major criticism of this proposal is that expenditure caps entrench the position of incumbents. This is a criticism that can be made of any campaign finance reform. QCCL makes three responses to this criticism.

First, there is evidence that in fact expenditure limits reduce reelection rates and increase political competition by attracting more candidates.

Secondly, we have adopted the position that there should not be caps on donations as a means of ensuring new entrants have access to funds. Rather, there should be comprehensive and continuous up-to-date disclosure of donations.

Queensland now has a system of continuous disclosure which requires that parties disclose gifts of over $1000 to the Electoral Commission within 7 days of receipt. Details of those gifts are then posted on the Commission’s website. The amount of $1000 appropriately balances the demand to avoid corruption in our electoral system and of privacy.

It is our position, that these disclosure requirements adequately address the legitimate concerns relating to corruption and should be adopted by the Commonwealth Parliament.

Thirdly caps on electoral expenditure for independent candidates and new political parties ought to be proportionally higher than those for endorsed candidates of existing parties to account for the effects of general party advertising.

For further information contact Michael Cope President QCCL on 07 3223 5939 during office hours and at all times on 0432 847 154

 27 November 2024