2016-07-19
The Queensland Greens have welcomed the announcement by Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk that donations to political parties and candidates will be made public in real time, but say it needs to be coupled with a cap on the size of donations and a ban on money coming from commercial interests such as property developers, gambling, tobacco and alcohol.
Party spokesperson Andrew Bartlett said the Greens have long been calling for prompt disclosure of political donations.
"We saw in the Federal election a clear example where a huge donation was apparently made by Malcolm Turnbull but kept secret. The very least the public can expect is a right to know where donations are coming from before they vote.
"What we need most is to remove the influence of big money from politics. Government decisions should be totally removed from property developers, casino promoters, alcohol companies and other vested interests. NSW have capped donations at $5000 and banned donations from property developers. That’d be a good start in Queensland too.
"The Greens call on wholesale changes to remove big money from politics to be implemented by the State Parliament at the same time as the welcome reforms just announced.”
For further comment, contact Andrew Bartlett on 0418 743 789.