Below: On September 14, 2016, the ABC’s Behind the News, a current affairs program for children, televised a segment explaining the controversy around Australia’s system of political donations.
Below: On August 31, 2016, SBS televised a satirical treatment of Senator Sam Dastyari’s request that a Chinese company pay a $1,600 bill for him.
Below: On February 17, 2016, the ABC’s current affairs comedy program, The Weekly, produced a segment criticising Australia’s political donations system.
Below: On October 14, 2015, Trifecta televised a discussion of the influence of wealthy campaign donors on United States politics.
Below: On June 8 2015 PragerU (showing material produced by Dennis Mark Prager, an American conservative and nationally syndicated radio talk show host) televised a video segment critical of the influence of big unions on United States politics.
NOTE that the names PragerU and Prager University refer to a YouTube channel created by Dennis Prager to present information and opinion videos he has produced.
Web links, documents
On May 23, 2016, the ABC’s current affairs program Four Corners televised an exposé of political funding in Australia, arguing that Australia’s lack of regulation of political donations had created a system ripe for corruption. The program is titled Money and influence: the shadowy world of political donations.
The full program VIDEO is available (at time of writing this issue outline) at http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/stories/2016/05/23/4465448.htm
On December 7, 2016, ABC News published a report titled 'Political donations to reach $1 billion thanks to big business donors'
The report analyses the extent of large corporate donation to political parties in Australia and suggests it may be even greater than the published figures suggest as the Australian system does not require full disclosure.
The full text of this report can be accessed at http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-12-07/political-donations-top-$1b-thanks-to-big-business/8097030
On November 5, 2016, The Vancouver Sun published a comment titled 'Foreign money poses threat to B.C. democracy'
The comment compares Australia's lack of control over foreign political donations with the situation in British Columbia and uses the Australian position as a negative example which shows the damage a lack of regulation can cause.
The full text can be accessed at http://vancouversun.com/opinion/columnists/douglas-todd-australias-foreign-political-donations-storm-cautionary-for-b-c
On October 8, 2016, Inside Story published a comment by Graeme Orr, law professor at the University of Queensland, specialising in the law of politics. The article is titled 'New York: Where political Finance Never Sleeps'
The article analyses those features of party campaign funding adopted in New York which could be usefully incorporated into the Australian campaign funding system.
The full text of the comment can be accessed at http://insidestory.org.au/new-york-where-political-finance-never-sleeps
On October 7, 2016, Inside Story published a comment by Graeme Orr, law professor at the University of Queensland, specialising in the law of politics. The article is titled 'Is the Party Over? It examines the negative effect that banning union donations would have on the Labor Party's election campaign funding.
The full text of this article can be accessed at http://insidestory.org.au/is-the-party-over
On September 14, 2016, CBS News published a report titled 'U.S. shocked by China's "undue influence" in major ally's politics'. The report detail's United States Ambassador to Australia, John Berry's, concern at the extent of Chinese donations to Australian political parties.
The full text of this article can be accessed at http://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-ambassador-australia-john-berry-surprised-china-undue-influence-donations/
On September 14, 2016, Overland published a comment by Chris O'Regan, a unionist in Brisbane. The point of view is titled 'The spectre of union donations'. O'Regan defends the right of unions to make political donations as vital to fostering political debate.
The full text of this comment can be accessed at https://overland.org.au/2016/09/the-spectre-of-union-donations/
On September 8, 2016, The Huffington Post published an article titled 'These Are The Biggest Money Donors To Australian Politics'
The article lists the major donators to Australia political parties for the 2014-2015 financial year as released by the Australian electoral commission.
The full text can be accessed at http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2016/09/07/these-are-the-biggest-money-donors-to-australian-politics/
On September 7, 2016, John Menadue's Internet site published a comment by Marian Sawer, Emeritus Professor and Public Policy Fellow, School of Politics and International Relations, Australian National University.
The article is titled 'Democracy for sale?' and outlines a number of the weaknesses of the manner in which political donations are made in Australia,
The full text of the comment can be accessed at http://johnmenadue.com/blog/?p=7644
On September 5, 2016, Civil Liberties Australia published a comment by Professor George Williams, Dean of Law at the University of New South Wales, and a member of Civil Liberties Australia. The comment is titled 'Bought for a pittance, MPs hide details'. Williams argues for reform of Australia's system of political donations.
The full text can be accessed at http://www.cla.asn.au/News/category/charter_rights/
On June 2, 2016, The Conversation published a comment by Marian Sawer, Emeritus Professor, School of Politics and International Relations, Australian National University. The comment is titled 'Australia trails way behind other nations in regulating political donations'.
Professor Sawer argues that Australia's system of political donations needs reform.
The full text of this comment can be accessed at https://theconversation.com/australia-trails-way-behind-other-nations-in-regulating-political-donations-59597
On May 24, 2016, The New Daily published a comment titled 'Donations now an issue for all parties'
The report examines the revelations made in a recent Four Corners program into potential political corruption in Australia and gives the views of a number of experts concerned about the issue.
The full text can be accessed at http://thenewdaily.com.au/news/national/2016/05/23/political-donations-four-corners/
On October 7, 2015, the High Court of Australia ruled against a property developer who challenged New South Wales law restricting the right of corporations to donate to political parties. The High Court found that the use of wealth to secure access to the political process was contrary to democratic principles.
The full text of this ruling can be found at http://eresources.hcourt.gov.au/downloadPdf/2015/HCA/34
On May 13, 2014, The ABC news segment The Drum published a comment by Tim Ayres, the New South Wales Secretary of the Australian Metal Workers Union (AMWU) and a member of the ALP national executive.
The comment is titled 'Banning donations would stifle democracy'. Ayres argues that unions should be able to make political donations as this promotes debate and the spread of ideas.
The full text of this comment can be accessed at http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-05-13/ayres-banning-donations-would-stifle-democracy/5447636
In 2014, the Australian National University Press published an analysis by Professor Sally Young titled 'Campaign Advertising and Communication Strategies in the Election of 2013'
Professor Young examines the nature of campaign expenditure in the 2013 election.
The full text of this article can be accessed at http://press-files.anu.edu.au/downloads/press/p309171/pdf/ch061.pdf
On December 18, 2013, the High Court of Australia made a ruling in favour of unions which challenged the New South Wales government's legislation intended to deny unions' right to make campaign donations to particular parties.
The ruling indicated that such a prohibition denied the right to 'political communication' implied within the Australian Constitution. The High Court further ruled that such a right applied to groups as well as to individuals.
The full text of this ruling can be accessed at http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/HCA/2013/58.html
In September 2007, the Australian Review of Public Affairs published a comment by former West Australian premier, Carmen Lawrence, titled 'Election 2007: Campaign finance reform'
Lawrence explains in detail the manner in which current party funding processes are undermining Australian democracy and suggests how the problem might be addressed.
The full text of the article can be accessed at http://www.australianreview.net/digest/2007/election/lawrence.html
