The Electoral Reform Bill being rammed through Parliament by Labor and LNP is an attempt to cement the Labor/LNP duopoly and bring US-style ‘democracy’ to Australia. Kim Wingerei reports.
Under the disguise of removing big money from politics, Labor and LNP have banded together to push through an Electoral Reform bill that is doing precisely the opposite.
It may make it more difficult for, say, Clive Palmer to spend $100 million+ to elect Ralph Babbitt to the Senate, and that is indeed a good thing. However, the bill will also make it a lot more difficult for independent candidates and smaller, less-resourced political parties to fund their campaigns while giving the major parties the upper hand in the funding stakes.
In the US, less than 60% of eligible voters actually vote, big money rules, and a candidate not endorsed by either of the two major parties has any chance of ever being elected for either house of Congress or for President. This is the style of entrenched duopoly that Labor and LNP want to see in Australia, and our treasured compulsory voting system can’t stop that.
One key aspect of the bill is to funnel over $80 million in additional public money to major parties every single election. According to ACT independent Senator David Pocock, “That’s not less money in politics – it’s just shifting the bill onto Australian taxpayers,” referring to the hike in taxpayer funding for votes from just over $3 per vote to $5 per vote. However,
The bill is packed with loopholes designed to crush independents and minor parties.
David Pocock
One of the major issues with the bill is how spending caps are rigged in favour of the major parties. While independents are restricted to around $800,000 per seat (or $600,000 in the ACT Senate), the major parties can spend millions in an electorate as long as they don’t mention the candidate’s name.
Another carve-out designed specifically for the major parties is what’s referred to as “nominated entities,” such as long-time Liberal funder the Cormack Foundation, which donated nearly $10 million before the last election, while Labor took $6 million from “Labor Holdings.”
Then, of course, there are the major parties’ membership clubs, the Liberal Party’s “Australian Business Network” and the Labor Party’s “Federal Labor Business Forum,” where corporate Australia can contribute millions without it being captured by the already inadequate disclosure caps. The bill does nothing to stop that, either.
State Capture: top corporations identified as members of both Liberal and Labor parties
To further undermine the donation caps, the new bill introduces a new loophole called “administrative funding”, which lets major parties spend freely without it counting towards their candidate spending cap.
Promoted as a ‘reform’ bill, “the bill ignores real electoral reform Australians are calling for – like truth in political advertising or banning the use of deepfakes at elections.” says Pocock.
The United States has long been recognised as a flawed democracy by global democracy observers such as the V-Dem Institute and The Economist’s annual democracy surveys, mainly because of the very low voter turnout, onerous voter registration requirements, widespread gerrymandering of voting districts (by both Democrats and Republicans), and the lack of control over – in essence – limitless donations.
The ‘Election Reform Bill’ is a major step in a similar direction for Australia, entrenching the power of the two major parties at the expense of candidates from minor parties and independents. It is pushing us even further away from representative democracy towards the absolute power of the particracy that Americans have had to endure for a very long time.
Kim Wingerei is a businessman turned writer and commentator. He is passionate about free speech, human rights, democracy and the politics of change. Originally from Norway, Kim has lived in Australia for 30 years. Author of ‘Why Democracy is Broken – A Blueprint for Change’.