That:
(1) having regard to the June 2008 report of the Legislative Council Select
Committee on Electoral and Political Party Funding which recommended,
among other things, that all but small donations by individuals be banned and
that further consultation be undertaken on increasing public funding of political
parties and elections; and
(2) noting that the Government has announced its support for the introduction of a
comprehensive public funding model;
the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters is to inquire into a public funding
model for political parties and candidates to apply at the state and local government
levels.
The Committee is to consider the following:
(a) the criteria and thresholds that should apply for eligibility to receive public
funding;
(b) the manner in which public funding should be calculated and allocated,
including whether it should take into account first preference votes,
parliamentary representation, party membership subscriptions, individual
donations and or other criteria;
(c) any caps that should apply, including whether there should be an overall cap
on public funding and or caps on funding of each individual party or candidate
either absolutely or as a proportion of their total campaign expenditure or
fundraising;
(d) the persons to whom the public funding should be paid, including whether it
should be paid directly to candidates or to political parties;
(e) the mechanisms for paying public funding, including the timing of payments;
(f) whether any restrictions should be imposed on the expenditure of public funding and, if so, what restrictions should apply and how should the
expenditure of public funding be monitored;
(g) whether any restrictions should be imposed on expenditure by political parties
and candidates more generally and, if so, what restrictions should apply and
how should expenditure be monitored;
h) how public funding should apply as part of the broader scheme under which
political donations are banned or capped;
(i) whether there should be any regulation of expenditure by third parties on
political advertising or communication;
(j) whether there should be any additional regulation to ensure that government
public information advertising is not used for partisan political purposes;
(k) any implications arising from the federal nature of Australia's system of
government and its political parties, including in relation to intra-party transfers
of funds from federal and other state/territory units of political parties;
(l) what provisions should be included in order to prevent avoidance and
circumvention of any limits imposed by a public funding scheme;
(m)the compatibility of any proposed measures with the freedom of political
communication that is implied under the Commonwealth Constitution;
(n) the impact of any proposed measures on the ability of new candidates,
including independent candidates and new political groupings, to contest
elections;
(o) any relevant reports and recommendations previously made by the Select
Committee on Electoral and Political Party Funding; and
(p) any other related matters.
The Committee is to report by 12 March 2010
