Electoral Matters Committee highlights transparency, trust and participation in recommendations for reform

THE Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters has concluded its inquiry into the 2022 election, making recommendations for reforms to improve donation transparency, reduce the influence of big money, and strengthen trust and participation in Australia's elections.

The committee’s final report, tabled today in Parliament, makes 21 recommendations on top of the 15 made in its interim report released in June.

Committee Chair Kate Thwaites MP said, "Our electoral system is strong, but our democracy is too important to be complacent. The committee heard clear evidence of the need for reform.

‘Based on the evidence we have received, the committee has recommended reforms to improve donation transparency, address the electoral ‘arms race’ of increased spending on elections, limit the potentially corrupting influence of big money, and build public trust."

These include reaffirming recommendations made in the interim report, including:

• Lowering the donation disclosure threshold to $1,000 and introducing ‘real time’ disclosure;
• Introducing donation and electoral spending caps; and
• Introducing truth in political advertising laws.

In addition, the committee’s final report makes further recommendations around representation, participation and other issues, including:

• Improving representation – increasing Senate representation for the two territories from two to four Senators, and requesting a specific inquiry into increasing the size of the House of Representatives;
• Encouraging participation and enfranchisement – making voting more accessible, including for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, people with disabilities, older Australians and Australians overseas; and
• Modernising election campaign legislation, including amending the process for the distribution of postal vote applications.

Through the course of the inquiry the committee received more than 1,500 submissions and held 11 public hearings.

Further information about the inquiry, including submissions and hearing transcripts, is available on the inquiry webpage.

 

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