Elections as the cornerstone of democracy

Democratic elections are vital for the health of our democracy. They are the means by which people weigh up the alternatives and have a voice in how they are governed. For this process, we need political parties and they do require money to carry out the electoral and organisational aspects of political life.

A large source of the finance that parties require derives from private donations, large and small. Much of the literature has an underlying assumption of quid pro quo, of donations being shrouded in suspicion, of favours being returned for large donations. Unfortunately, it is the case that moneyed interests will attempt to speak louder and will often succeed as a result.

This 'dangerous art of giving' erodes the very foundation of our democracy. Rather that elections being fair and providing as equal an opportunity as possible to present a political platform, political donations are valued over grassroots political involvement, incumbency and access over electoral competitiveness and inequality over political equality.

Corporate donations are of particular concern. Political finance disclosure and numerous media reports indicate a close nexus between economic and political power, of corporate interests buying access and influence that ordinary Australians are unable to afford. Additionally, company shareholders can be unwitting electoral donors. Large donations from the trade union movement are also of concern. It should not be okay for unions comprised of non-members of the Labor Party to involuntarily grease the wheels of the party machine.

Similarly, foreign donations are problematic. As Australian law generally has limited jurisdiction outside Australian shores, the trail of disclosure can be broken once it heads overseas. This provides an obvious vehicle for hiding the identity of donors through arrangements that narrowly observe the letter of Australian law.

To address the alleged link between big money and the taint of corruption, in 1981 the public funding of elections was adopted for the first time in Australia by New South Wales. It was taken up at the Federal level in 1983/84. Currently, there is no use of taxpayer dollars to subsidise elections in Western Australia, but it has been reported that the current Labor Government has supported a proposal for its introduction.

While public funding has evened up the financing of political parties away from the bias of private donations, it seems to have merely provided the major parties with a useful top-up of funds. Additionally, when there has been a tightening of disclosure laws over the last two decades, creative practices have been used to skirt them. The Democrats are of the firm belief that further reform is urgently required to put an end to the perception, if not reality, of the corrupting influence of money and policy.

For the minor parties, there is no level playing-field. They lose out at both levels. With low amounts of private donations, they tend to rely on public funding, which is still low in comparison to the substantial amounts received by the Coalition Parties and Labor. The minors have no chance of presenting their election platforms in a way that comes close to matching the spending power of the majors.

Document last updated on: 17:11 22nd Mar 2006.