[Greens-Media] Schott panel report one step towards cleaner politics

[John Kaye]

Schott panel report one step towards cleaner politics

Media release: 30 December 2014

The Greens today welcomed many of the recommendations in the Schott panel
of expert's final report on political donations (http://j.mp/SchottFinal).

Greens NSW MP John Kaye said: "The Schott panel has pulled no punches.
Political parties have treated the electoral donations and spending laws as
optional and the Electoral Commission has in effect turned a blind eye.

"Making parties and their senior officials strictly responsible for the
lawfulness of their donations and spending transactions would be an
important step away from the crisis and scandal of the last eight years.

"It would also help restore public confidence in state politics.

"The distraction of full public funding is now over. It served both Labor
and the Liberal and National politicians to distract from the wrong doings
of their colleagues but it has never been a useful contribution to the
public debate.

"The panel is also implicitly critical of the one-off changes to public
funding implemented for the 2015 election that will extract an additional
$11.5 million from taxpayers and deliver it to political parties.

"When big political parties work together to push up public funding, it's
clear that they are serving their own ends and not the public good.

"It is particularly galling that both Labor and the Coalition justified
their support in the name of reducing corruption, given the failure of
their own parties to enforce appropriate standards.

"Premier Baird and whoever ends up as Opposition leader should commit to
ensuring this kind of rip-off never occurs again.

"Reduction of third party spending limits to $500,000 would be unfair and
anti-democratic unless political parties were proportionately constrained.

"In effect, the recommendation would further limit the voice of unions and
other organisations while leaving political parties free to dominate the
airwaves with their messages.

"The argument over real time disclosure of donations is now over.

”The Schott panel has urged politicians to get out of the way and allow it
to happen as quickly as possible to create greater transparency.

"Both Labor nor the Liberals and Nationals have been working hard to come
up with excuses to not let the public know who is giving them how much as
it is donated.

"They should be embarrassed by the recommendation that donations cannot be
kept hidden until after the election is over.

"The very least each party could now do is commit to their own system of
real time disclosure of donations over $1,000," Dr Kaye said.

For more information: John Kaye 0407 195 455


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John Kaye
Greens NSW MP
phone: 0407 195 455
web: www.john.nsw.greens.org.au
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