Tue 28 Oct 2025 10.00
Photo: AAP Image/Mick Tsikas
The Albanese Government has come in for criticism today as a Centre for Public Integrity report card marks them as failing on six of seven transparency measures. When asked about it on ABC Breakfast, Special Minister of State Don Farrell pointed to the changes he and the Liberals negotiated earlier this year:
“At the next election, all donations that are going to be made to any political must be fully disclosed. Previously, the amount was $17,000. So, we have significantly dropped that money. More importantly, those donations have to be disclosed before the election. So, every single donation above $5,000 has to be disclosed before the next election.”
The improvements to donation disclosures are the one bright spot in the electoral changes, which otherwise make it much harder for independents and new parties to challenge the incumbents.
Meanwhile, the electoral law changes ensure the major parties will receive tens of millions of dollars more in taxpayer funding, and enjoy several loopholes to get around donation and spending caps. Rules for thee but not for me.
That’s why Senator Farrell, when asked in Senate Estimates, couldn’t identify a single integrity group in the country that supported the changes.
Few issues unite progressive and conservative voters. Ending corruption is one of the few exceptions.
The problem with having pattern recognition is that you can always see the fires before they start. Governments are a bit like that, too. It’s not that they don’t see the fire before the smoke, it’s just they figure it will be someone else’s problem to deal with it by the time it’s all ablaze.
Author of Vulture Capitalism, Grace Blakeley, has told Australian consumers they need to stand up to the huge companies which dominate their way of life.
The arbiters of ethical public spending have an odd set of tools at their disposal, to judge by the dismal saga facing Anika Wells and Don Farrell, among others.
