Pocock wants a review of 'stitch-up' deal over electoral reform

ACT independent Senator David Pocock has demanded a rethink of the new electoral donations laws that have passed the parliament after the major parties struck a deal that rendered the crossbench irrelevant to the vote.

The independents say the new rules, which cap electoral spending and donations in favour of the parties, will block community-based candidates from contesting elections.

However, the government says it will create an equal playing field and stop billionaires from bankrolling candidates.

With Labor facing the real possibility of having to form a minority government for its second term, Anthony Albanese has infuriated the very people he would need to rely on even more to get future legislation passed.

The same goes for Peter Dutton, should he try to form a minority government.

Yet the deal between Labor and the Opposition was being finalised at the same time the Prime Minister was hosting independent MPs for cocktails at The Lodge.

The electoral reforms bill passed the Senate late on Wednesday (12 February) and got its final nod of approval in the House of Representatives on Thursday, as angry crossbench MPs expressed their outrage.

The changes, which won’t come into effect until after this year’s federal election, require donations over $5000 to be disclosed – which is greater than the $1000 the government initially wanted – but is down from the current threshold of $16,900.

They also state that the maximum amount an individual donor can give to a candidate or a political party will be $50,000 (instead of the draft $20,000) and must be declared in real-time instead of after an election.

An individual candidate will have a spending cap of $800,000 (and only $600,000 for an ACT senate candidate), while there will be a national $90 million cap per party.

The 2028 federal election will be the first time political fundraising and spending will be limited at the federal level.

Senator Pocock, who spent $1.8 million to get elected, said the new rules will act against the ability of independent candidates to run.

He wants a High Court challenge and says he will also push for a parliamentary inquiry if he is re-elected and there is a minority government.

“It’d be incredibly important to look at this. It’s pretty telling that I haven’t seen a single civil society group come out and say this is a good thing for democracy,” he said.

“The cost of living crisis is so real.

“Underpinning that is a lack of competition. Why would we allow a lack of competition in our political sphere.”

Just before the vote, Senator Pocock described the deal between Labor and the Coalition as a stitch-up designed to inhibit community-based candidates from being elected.

“The fix is in,” he said.

“We’ve known from the start that this would be a major party stitch-up to lock out community-backed independents.”

Following the bill’s passing, crossbenchers held a media conference to call for a High Court challenge and threaten far less cooperation with the party that forms government at the imminent election.

They said they would only help form the next government if the major parties promised to review what they described as a “dirty deal.”

“No doubt that there’ll be a legal challenge, and I think that needs to run its course to see whether these laws are unconstitutional,” independent Curtin MP Kate Chaney said.

Independent member for Clark, Andrew Wilkie, tweeted: “The only thing the major parties can agree on is their own self-interest. And that’s exactly what’s happened today with their dirty deal on electoral reform.”

The crossbenchers also criticised the government for only circulating the amendments (as a result of the deal) while the debate was being held.

Senator Pocock said independents were already receiving new support and donations since news of the deal broke.

“Lots of people are saying this is not what we want in our politics,” he said.

“No one’s arguing that we want big money in politics, but the argument all along has been, let’s create a level playing field.

“You have to take into account the advantages of being an incumbent. This isn’t about me. It probably suits me … But this is about other communities who want someone other than the major parties in there, representing them, fighting for them and being accountable to them.”

Special Minister of State Don Farrell insisted, however, that the new rules constituted a fairer electoral system.

“We’ve been going through the process of looking at how do we make the Australian electoral system more transparent and more available to ordinary Australians,” he said during a Sky News interview.

“It shouldn’t be the case that you have to have the backing of a millionaire or a billionaire to get elected to the Australian Parliament.”