Political Donations

The majority voted against a motion introduced by Greens Senator Lee Rhiannon, which means that it was unsuccessful.

Wording of the motion

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) political donations for the 2013 federal election made on or after 1 July 2013 will not be made public until 1 February 2015,

(ii) political donations under $12 400 do not have to be disclosed by parties or candidates to the Australian Electoral Commission, and

(iii) this higher disclosure threshold level means the public is not aware of the details of a large number of political donations received by political parties; and

(b) calls for:

(i) a donation disclosure threshold of $1 000,

(ii) a ban on overseas donations,

(iii) a $50 cap on anonymous donations,

(iv) donations to different branches of a political party to be accumulated and treated as donations to the same party in order to stop political parties minimising their disclosure obligations by donation splitting,

(v) 6-monthly disclosure of donations and political expenditure, and

(vi) online disclosure of donations over $1 000 in the 3 months prior to an election or from when the election is called.