2019-08-26
Greens NSW anti-corruption spokesperson Jamie Parker MP says that today's ICAC hearing has revealed more allegations of fundraising illegalities.
Operation Aero commenced today, examining serious allegations of subversion of state election donation laws at a March 2015 Chinese Friends of Labor dinner, where over $100,000 was raised for the party.
Jamie Parker MP says: "Today's hearing has provided more evidence that political fundraising culture in NSW is deeply broken.
"Both Labor and the Liberals have already lost multiple MPs to corruption hearings and these allegations show our laws haven't changed the broken fundraising culture that exists in the old parties.
"Evidence given to ICAC today alleges that a former Labor party boss was handed $100,000 by a prohibited donor.
"It's incredibly disappointing that Labor seems to have made little progress since the bad old days of Eddie Obeid and Ian Macdonald.
"The Greens have been pressing for a total ban on pay-per-view fundraising events like the one being investigated by the ICAC, and this was one of the key recommendations we made into ICAC's current lobbying probe. These events are designed to sell access to decision-makers and they invite corruption.
"This investigation is yet another example of why robust laws against corruption aren't enough. We need a strong, well-funded ICAC to investigate the political corruption that has been exposed within both the Liberal and Labor parties," he says.