New State Parliament laws set to crackdown on political donations

Political parties would be forced to disclose donations within a month of receiving them — narrowing to a week during election campaigns — under new laws set for State Parliament.

Electoral Affairs Minister John Quigley has won Cabinet approval for a new reform package aimed at making campaign funding more transparent.

Under the current regime, parties must disclose donors once a year.

A spokesperson for Mr Quigley said the changes were an election promise.

“As per our election commitment, the Government is working to introduce a further tranche of amendments to the Electoral Act during this term of government,” the spokesperson said.

“This will include things like improving disclosure laws to ensure more timely disclosure of donations, amongst other things.”

The new laws have been framed after the McGowan Government’s original campaign reform package failed to pass the Legislative Council prior to the last State election.

The Government did not have the numbers in the Upper House to pass the Electoral Amendment Bill 2020, which was referred to a committee.

That Bill, which aimed to cap third-party funding, was introduced amid fears Clive Palmer would buy an election with his unprecedented advertising blitz.