‘Not true’: MP crashes Labor minister’s doorstop on donor reforms (13 Feb 2025)
Article summary: The Albanese government’s Electoral Legislation Amendment (Electoral Reform) Bill 2024 has sparked strong backlash from independent MPs, who argue the changes will entrench major party dominance while limiting the ability of independents to compete. The bill, which passed the Lower House after clearing the Senate, imposes strict donation caps, including a $50,000 limit per donor to individual candidates, but allows major parties to receive up to $450,000 due to a loophole treating state and territory branches as separate entities. It also introduces a public funding increase, significantly benefiting Labor and the Coalition.
Independent MP Zali Steggall dramatically interrupted Special Minister for State Don Farrell during a press conference, directly challenging his claims about the reforms. “Why don’t you tell the Australian people what is going to happen, the big money that will be in politics will be the public money, because now the public is paying for the money that you want to still spend during elections, and the only people that participate in elections will be union members?” she said. Senator Farrell denied this, insisting, “There are no secret loopholes in this legislation.” He described the bill as “the most transparent electoral reforms that has ever occurred in this country.”
Other independents also voiced their anger. Western Australian MP Kate Chaney labelled the reforms a “major party stitch-up,” highlighting how they would “mean that taxpayers pay more for less choice.” She warned, “The major parties will get about two and a half times the public funding they got at the 2022 election by 2028, and it will be much harder for independents to challenge major parties.” Chaney criticised the lack of scrutiny on the legislation, stating, “It has not gone to a parliamentary inquiry. The experts have not had a chance to really understand what impact this has.”
Tasmanian Senator Jacqui Lambie also expressed outrage, saying the changes would prevent ordinary Australians from entering politics, calling it a move designed to keep people like her out. “I have to say I’m offended because the only way I got here was that I was given an opportunity, as a normal Aussie, by Clive Palmer,” she told the Senate. “Are you now saying to me, that after 10 years in this place, that I don’t belong here?”
Independent MP Dai Le, who won Fowler from Labor in 2022, warned the new donation caps would make it harder for community-based candidates to enter politics. “Somebody in a multicultural community out in South Western or Western Sydney in particular, who’s going to try and run as an independent … it’s going to be hard for them,” she said.
With polling indicating a possible minority government after the next election, the changes have raised concerns about how independents will approach negotiations. Chaney emphasised that “transparency and accountability in our democracy” would factor into deciding who she could work with. Steggall was more direct, stating, “I have no confidence in Don Farrell, and he has the approval of the Prime Minister, so that absolutely has an impact for me in terms of good faith negotiations.”
Tasmanian independent Andrew Wilkie suggested the reforms could backfire on the major parties, reinforcing the trend of declining primary votes for both Labor and the Coalition. “The two-party system is dying,” he said. “They can do whatever they want, they can pull whatever stunt they want … but their vote will keep going down, and people like us will keep getting elected.”
