Victoria to clamp down on funding thresholds

ALL political donations over $1000 will have to be disclosed in real time in Victoria, under sweeping law changes proposed by the Andrews Government.

A new cap will be set at $4000 over a state political term for money given to a political party, associated entities, and third party campaigners. Donations from foreigners would also be banned.

Premier Daniel Andrews said the radical changes would end “secret payments” and shine a light on the murky world of donations.

He said groups that had affiliations with parties, such as trade unions or business groups, would be subject to the new caps and disclosure thresholds. They would still be able to campaign on behalf of a party, but wouldn’t be able to funnel vast amounts to parties without disclosing information publicly.

For example, a union could pay for a billboard that aligns with a party’s political interests with money it received from fundraisers. But it could not send more than $4000 to the ALP in one political term.

At the moment, only donations over $13,200 must be disclosed publicly and there is no limit to the amount of money that can be sent to parties. There is also a long lag time between when donations are made and when they are declared.

Special Minister of State Gavin Jennings said the changes would lead to a greater administrative burden on the Victorian Electoral Commission and political parties, meaning an increase in their public funding is likely.

He said the amount that taxpayers would fund parties would be discussed by the State Parliament.

Mr Andrews said the VEC would disclose all donations as they happened if the parliament backed his government’s laws.