After another year of rorting scandals, favours for donor mates, and political self-interest it’s clearer than ever that we need a new approach to restore public confidence in democracy, clean up parliament, and end corruption.
Cleaning up politics is a big job and needs to start from the ground up.
We need a strong, independent integrity commission to catch and punish corrupt politicians (like the one the Greens’ Bill would set up!), but we also need to remove the conditions that allow corruption to fester in the first place.
The Greens have a plan to ensure our parliament reflects the community it represents and acts in the public interest, not the interests of big corporations and the super rich.
Our Plan to Clean Up Elections.
We will make elections fairer by:
- introducing truth in political advertising laws
- reforming donation laws to ban dirty donations, cap all other donations to $1k, and require real time disclosure
- capping electoral spending so elections can’t be bought by those with the deepest pockets
Our Plan to Clean up parliament.
We will lift the standards and improve transparency and accountability by:
- strengthening the Register of Interests so all potential conflicts are disclosed
- strengthening the Lobbying Code and publish Ministers’ diaries so you know who’s meeting with who
- making FOI laws more effective
- implementing an enforceable Code of Conduct for all politicians and senior staff (not just Ministers) so there are clear consequences for misconduct
Our Plan to Clean up rorting and corruption.
We will uncover rorting and corrupt conduct by:
- protecting whistleblowers
- funding the ANAO to audit all relevant government programs
- introducing a strong, independent integrity commission to deal with corrupt conduct
Our Plan to Stop politicians from ‘cleaning up’ when they leave parliament.
We will jam the revolving door between industry and politics and stop politicians from profiteering by:
- extending the Lobbying Code to all lobbyists
- preventing Ministers taking roles in industries they used to regulate within 5 years of leaving parliament
Our plan to revive democracy
We will make sure that more diverse voices are heard in parliament by:
- removing barriers to election for public servants and dual citizens
- encouraging participation by under-represented groups
- supporting the right to protest and public advocacy
- trialing innovative ways to increase public engagement in politics
Everyone benefits from a culture of honesty, integrity, transparency, and accountability in politics. It’s what we all deserve, and only the Greens have a clear plan to deliver it.
If you would like to read the full policy initiative, you can download here.