Labor pushes to lift donation cap to $10,000 as negotiations continue
Labor will push to raise the cap on donations to $10,000 as it seeks to reintroduce Victoria’s election laws, and the state government will struggle to reach a deal after complex negotiations with the Coalition and crossbench.
Ahead of next week’s parliamentary session, Allan’s government is negotiating with upper house MPs to support urgently needed legislation after the Supreme Court struck down Victoria’s campaign finance laws as unconstitutional last month.
Under the previous regime, the maximum amount any person or organization could donate to a candidate was $4,970.
Allan’s government needs the support of the Coalition or seven other MPs to pass the revised laws in the upper house and hopes to gain support from both parties.
New donation limits of $50,000, $25,000 and $10,000 were announced to secure votes for the legislation.
A Liberal source and a Labor source who spoke anonymously to give details of private discussions said a $25,000 cap could still be on the table if it meant securing the Coalition’s support for the legislation.
But the government insists that $10,000 is the new limit it will follow. He remains committed to making the laws retroactive and requiring disclosure of donations over $2,500.
At the beginning of the month, Prime Minister Jacinta Allan reiterated her commitment to ensuring legislation is backdated and that financial contributions must be disclosed to political candidates.
“The legislation we will introduce to Parliament will require all donations made since the Supreme Court decision was made to be transparent,” he said.
These comments did not stop some groups who wanted to take advantage of this period when donation laws were not implemented.
Age Earlier this month, Climate 200 co-convenor Simon Holmes à Court revealed his organization had donated $40,000 to the campaigns of independent candidates in Kew and Hawthorn.
If the donations had been made before April 15, they would have been illegal and punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
The laws will come to parliament in June, but may not be introduced until the next session week if further negotiations are needed.
There was speculation at one point this week that the government, which continues to seek bipartisan support, would put forward a different offer to the Coalition than the one it has put forward to other MPs.
But a government source said on Thursday it was increasingly likely that they would need cross-review to pass the laws as no deal had yet been reached with the opposition.
Another sticking point in the negotiations was the use of taxpayer funds for political advertising and campaign activities.
The government has pushed to increase public funding for political campaigns to offset the financial impact of the cap and the loss of nominated organizations – legacy investment funds that Labor, the Liberals and the Nationals have relied on for decades to fund election campaigns.
Special treatment for these organizations formed the basis of the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down Victoria’s charity laws on the grounds that they hindered political communication, when challenged by independent candidates Paul Hopper and Melissa Lowe.
The Liberal Party has resisted any increase in public funding as part of the legislation.
Shadow attorney general James Newbury accused Labor of cheating taxpayers.
“In the midst of a cost of living crisis, every Victorian should be shouting about Jacinta Allan’s plan to pocket more of their hard-earned money,” he said.
“Not only do these new laws stink, they are also dangerously at risk of the Supreme Court striking them down.”
