DATA DOLLARS

MPs use taxpayer money to collect information on voters

TASMANIAN taxpayers are paying thousands of dollars a year for political parties to collect data about them.

A Mercury investigation has discovered taxpayers are paying for glorified databases, which can be used to target voters at election time.

During the past financial year, Labor’s Lower House MPs paid about $1300 a year to access the party’s Electrac database.

As part of a Your Right to Know investigation that reviewed more than 14,000 transactions by Lower House MPs during the past three financial years, the Mercury found Labor MPs were paying for the database out of their taxpayer-funded member’s resource allowance. The Liberal Party said some of its members used the allowance to fund the party’s Feedback database “over the years”. Tasmanian taxpayers have paid $13,650 during the past three years towards Labor’s database.

Both the Electrac and Feedback systems provide the parties with: ELECTORAL roll information about individuals.

INFORMATION gleaned by party officials through doorknock visits or visits by individuals to electorate offices. PUBLIC comments made by voters.

It has previously been reported the system had the capacity to collect information as diverse as letters to the editor and comments to talkback radio.

Information gathered can be used to target voters in election campaigns.

Party sources said voters who had raised concerns about issues such as health or education could be targeted with issue-specific correspondence because of the information collected on the databases.

A spokesman for the Labor Party said electorate officers used a database to keep track of constituent inquiries, correspondence and interactions.

“This is a core function and an entirely legitimate use of funds provided to run electorate offices,” he said.

A government spokesman said the use of the member’s resource allowance to access databases was within entitlement because it allowed “elected members to better communicate with their constituents”.

“Over the years, some Liberal members have elected to use some portion of their MRA for this, others have elected not to and spent their MRA on other approved purposes,” he said.

Tasmanian Greens state convener Austra Maddox said the party had a database that contained information such as which streets had been doorknocked but it did not track individuals.

Both databases originate at a federal party level.

Labor was the first party in Australia to set up votertracking software in the 1980s with a system called Polfile.

It set up the superior Electrac system after the successful 1993 election when the Paul Keating-led ALP kept power.

It has been reported the Liberal Party set up Feedback after the 1990 federal election loss when it recognised that the party was out-campaigned in key marginal seats.