[Greens-Media] Tas Greens_Bartlett Must Follow Bligh's Political Fundraiser Reform Lead_K Booth MP

[greens at parliament.tas.gov.au]

BARTLETT MUST IMPLEMENT BAN ON GOVT MPs ATTENDING PARTY FUNDRAISERS

Tasmania Should Lead, Not Fall Behind National Moves

Kim Booth MP
Greens Acting Leader

Monday, 3 August 2009
Contact: State Parliamentary Offices of the Tasmanian Greens, (03) 6233
8300

www.tas.greens.org.au


The Tasmanian Greens today called on Premier David Bartlett to emulate
Queensland Premier Anna Bligh's announced ban on all Labor MPs attending
party fundraising events where businesses pay to access Ministers, a
move also supported by senior federal ALP politicians including Wayne
Swan and Julia Gillard, saying that such a move would go a long way to
improve the Tasmanian people's confidence in their democracy.

Greens Acting Leader Kim Booth MP said that such a significant
government clean-up reform should be implemented before the next state
election as Tasmanians deserve the same level of transparency and
accountability as other states invest in protecting the integrity of
their respective democratic systems.

"No more delaying tactics, no more empty rhetoric, if Anna Bligh
believes that Queenslanders deserve to have an immediate ban on
government MPs attending intimate party fundraisers with business
people, then David Bartlett must accept that Tasmanians deserve the
same," Mr Booth said.

"Just as Anna Bligh has moved to clean up her government by implementing
this reform swiftly, David Bartlett should also implement the same ban
before the scheduled March 2010 Tasmanian state election."

"Imposing an immediate ban on government MPs attending intimate
fundraising events with representatives from businesses and lobbyists,
would go a long way for Mr Bartlett to achieve his own stated goal of
restoring Tasmanian's faith in their democratic system."

"This would improve Tasmanians' confidence in their system of governance
and help to put to rest the unedifying spectres of recent instances such
as the infamous Treasurer Michael Aird fund-raiser dinner last year, and
concerns raised over the Premier's $5000-per-head dinner with ICT
business interests around the time the National Broadband Network
roll-out contracts were becoming available."

"The Greens believe that significant government clean-up reforms such as
this complement our long-standing call for state political donation
laws, which would also include an examination of public funding of
political parties, and a Register of Lobbyists, a reform which appears
to have stuttered and stalled under the Bartlett government," Mr Booth
said.




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