[Greens-Media] Keneally's tiered election funding locks up politics for the big parties

[John Kaye]

Keneally's tiered election funding locks up politics for the big parties

Media release: 25 September 2010

Premier Kristina Keneally's proposed public funding model for state elections would massively increase taxpayer support for the big parties but slash the money available to medium, small and emerging parties, according to Greens NSW MP John Kaye. ('Funding plan 'bad for small parties'', SMH 25 September page 14, http://bit.ly/smh100925F)

The funding model delivers a fraction of the amount of money spent by a party or candidate, depending on their vote. Parties such as Labor and the Coalition receiving more than 20 percent of the vote, would receive 75 percent of their total spend, increasing their combined refund by 5.8 million above 2007 levels.

Smaller parties will see a savage cut in their public funding. Greens (50 percent of total spend), Shooters and Christian Democrats (25 percent of total spend) would collectively lose more than $1 million.

Dr Kaye said: "The new public funding rules would throw up the barricades against new and emerging parties. It is an insult to democracy that would turn parliament into an even more exclusive club.

"The bigger parties that always spend well beyond their public funding reimbursement levels will probably see an increase in the money they receive, while the much smaller parties will be savagely starved of funds.

"The Greens are now big enough to survive the impacts of a tiered funding model, but we are concerned that the details will create barriers to other political parties obtaining a foothold. 

"This model would have made it much harder for the Greens to breakthrough to the level we are at today.

"A vibrant democracy should provide opportunities for new and emerging parties to put their case to the people. It should be up to the voters to decide if they like a party and its messages, not those parties that have already made it.

"The funding reform package is supposed to clean up money politics but what it does is help entrench power for the Labor party," Dr Kaye said.

For more information:	John Kaye 0407 195 455