The Victorian Greens have renewed their call on the Victorian Labor Government to introduce spending caps for state elections, in a bid to make campaigning fairer for smaller parties and independents.
Right now there remains a significant loophole in the current funding rules that benefits Labor and the Liberals at the expense of smaller parties and independents.
The loophole is the provision for ‘nominated entities’ that allows Labor and the Liberals to keep a legacy asset base to fund elections outside of donation caps.
Victorian Greens integrity spokesperson, Dr Tim Read, said the reforms put in place ahead of the 2018 election – including donation caps – were important and should be kept.
But the funding arrangements that came with it were crafted to protect the major parties.
He said introducing spending caps would help even the playing field for all candidates by limiting the entrenched advantage the current loophole provides the two major parties, and by limiting the usefulness of any undeclared donations.
The Greens also want to see political donations from the property and gambling industries banned, and truth in political advertising laws.
As stated by Victorian Greens integrity spokesperson, Dr Tim Read:
“There remains a significant loophole in the current funding rules that benefits Labor and the Liberals at the expense of smaller parties and independents.
“The reforms put in place ahead of the 2018 election were important, but the funding arrangements that came with it were crafted to protect the major parties.
“Spending caps are a missing piece of Victoria’s electoral reform and would help even the playing field for all candidates come election time.”
