[Greens-Media] Media release: ICAC underlines need for political party accountability reforms

[John Kaye]

ICAC underlines need for political party accountability reforms

Media release: 17 December 2014

The NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption report into election funding and disclosure in NSW provides an important road map that will be ignored at the peril of whoever is the next Premier of this state, according to Greens NSW MP John Kaye.

(ICAC "Election funding, expenditure and disclosure in NSW: Strengthening accountability and transparency" http://j.mp/ICAC14EFEDA)

Dr Kaye said: "Key ICAC recommendations into lobbying published in 2010 were ignored by both Labor and Coalition governments for almost four years with devastating consequences.

"This report should not suffer the fate.

"Whoever is Premier after March 2015 should immediately implement each and every one of these recommendations.

"They mirror much of what the Greens as well as electoral funding experts have been calling for over the past ten years.

"Random audits and risk-based assessments of political parties and mandatory on-line disclosure of all donations as they are received will go a long way towards moving NSW out of the corruption sin bin.

"Reforms to election funding, expenditure and disclosure over the past decade have created world-leading laws but political paralysis has left NSW with banana republic standard enforcement.

"ICAC has correctly identified the need to give real teeth to the Electoral Commission to make transparency more than just an ideal.

"The Greens are proud of the work we have done to improve disclosure and ban corruption-risk donors but it is now time to focus on much stronger enforcement.

"Labor and the Liberals and Nationals passed up the opportunity to take NSW forward on accountability in the last round of changes. They rejected our model for much tougher penalties and more timely disclosure.

"Perhaps now they will listen to ICAC," Dr Kaye said.

For more information: John Kaye 0407 195 455

John Kaye

Greens NSW MP
P: (02) 9230 2668 | F: facebook.com/john.kaye.mlc<http://www.facebook.com/john.kaye.mlc> | T: @johnkgreens<twitter.com/johnkgreens> | W: www.johnkaye.org.au<http://www.johnkaye.org.au/>

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