Independent Senator for South Australia, Rex Patrick, has promised if elected, he will make political donation reform a priority in the next parliament, due to begin sitting in late May.
Announcing his plan for achieving political donation transparency, Patrick said in a release on Wednesday that drawing attention to the problem of “dark money” is critical to restoring the health of Australia’s democracy, adding that it is a task equal in priority to establishing a federal anti-corruption commission.
“The Commonwealth has the weakest political donation disclosure laws in the country. The big political parties–Liberal, Nationals and Labor–have been content to allow a flawed political finance disclosure regime to deteriorate to the point that it is an open door to political corruption and covert influence,” he said.
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