Legislation to fix Victoria’s broken electoral laws is at risk of another legal challenge, as the Coalition and advocates for independent MPs have declared Labor’s new changes worse than the laws they are replacing.
Premier Jacinta Allan will this week introduce revamped electoral laws to the Victorian parliament as she seeks to return donation limits and other restrictions that were thrown out by the High Court on April 15.
Under the government’s proposed bill, donations will be capped at $10,000 every political cycle but doubled for new parties or candidates. Real-time disclosures will also be required for donations above $1250.
Although the full bill has not been released publicly, the draft legislation and the details released so far have already brought criticism and raised the prospect they could be challenged again.
Discussions are under way about a fresh legal challenge, depending on the final form the legislation takes after its journey through parliament.
Climate 200 co-convenor Simon Holmes à Court, who supported the successful High Court case lodged by former state independent candidates Paul Hopper and Melissa Lowe, said the government appeared to be repeating the same mistakes it had already made.
“By shovelling literally millions of taxpayer money to themselves and handcuffing new entrants, the proposed new laws are arguably worse than the ones the High Court threw out,” Holmes à Court said.
Under the new laws, taxpayer-funded administrative payments will also be boosted for registered parties.
Parties will receive $300,000 for their first elected MP, $100,000 for their second MP and $55,000 each for their third MP through to their 45th.
Shadow attorney-general James Newbury said the proposed laws should have alarms ringing.
“After Labor’s first set of laws were struck down by the High Court every signpost says their new laws are even worse,” he said.
“On top of that, they are proposing to pocket more taxpayers’ money in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis.
“Every Victorian should now start asking themselves if these proposed laws are constitutional and what they are willing to do about it.”
One key sticking point in the legislation is the requirement that Labor, the Liberals and the Nationals will be required to pay back anything above the $10,000 limit they received from nominated entities – special trusts previously exempt from donation caps – since July 1, 2023.
Legal exemptions that allowed these nominated entities to provide unlimited donations were the basis for the High Court’s ruling that Victoria’s donation laws were unlawful and provided an unfair advantage that limited political communications.
The payback provision was based on legal advice that the government’s laws needed to remove the advantages of nominated entities for this electoral cycle, on the assumption the rules will be challenged in court again.
Allan would not be drawn on the laws when asked on Monday, but said they would be brought to parliament this week and more details provided on Tuesday.
“Following the High Court decision back in April, my commitment has been to restore integrity to Victoria’s political donation system, and transparency is a critically and fundamentally important part of that,” she said.
“Victorians deserve to know who’s donated, how much they’re donating, and it’s absolutely fundamental to free and fair elections in any democracy.”
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Patrick Hatch is transport reporter at The Age and a former business reporter.Connect via X or email.From our partners
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
