Wait for public view on reform

THE state’s Opposition Leader says she wants to hear what the community has to say before moving to improve transparency on political donations.

The Government will introduce changes to the Electoral Act when parliament returns from next month, including reforms to allow newspapers to report on politics the same day state elections are held. But it will not yet deal with changes to electoral donation laws, widely considered the worst of any state or territory but on par with the requirements of the Commonwealth.

Speaking on ABC Hobart, Labor leader Rebecca White said her party had long supported lowering the donation transparency threshold to $1000, below the current requirement of $13,800.

But she said she would not work to change the legislation to introduce reform sooner.

The Government has held community consultation on its interim report on the Electoral Act Review, which included information on donations, with submissions to close on February 18.

“I think it’s a little presumptive to act before this review process is concluded,” Ms White said yesterday.

“We’re participating in the review … we would like to see what the community has to say about this and the direction they would like us to take the lead in parliament.”

The Australian Electoral Commission released Tasmanian political parties’ returns this month, meaning the state waited almost one year to find out who backed Labor and the Liberals ahead of the March state election.

The Liberals received about $4.1 million and Labor about $1.1 million. Both parties declared the source of less than one-quarter of their funds.