WILL the High Court of Australia strike down Victoria’s strict caps on political donations that favour the major parties, and the Labor Party in particular.
The so-called “law” says unions and whomever can donate millions to the big three parties, but an individual can only donate a maximum of $4000.
The case is part of a wider move by independents fighting plans to curb their fundraising, with former federal politicians Zoe Daniel and Rex Patrick also recently filing an application to the High Court to challenge federal caps on donations.
But last week the High Court case was centred on Victoria, where individual donations are now capped at $4,900 every four years.
Lawyers for independent candidates Melissa Lowe and Paul Hopper say the legislated rule places a burden on the implied freedom of political communication under the Constitution.
The problem is that the same rule does not apply to the major parties, which can draw from nominated fundraising entities, such as the Liberals’ Cormack Foundation and Labor’s Labor Services and Holdings, which can make large donations to campaigns above the cap.
“These laws are anti-democratic and unfair, entrenching massive financial advantages to the major parties and denying a level playing field to independent and minor party candidates,” Ms Lowe told the ABC.
“They are a rort designed to entrench the major party duopoly at the very time they attract lower support than ever from Victorian voters.”
Independent candidates like Victorian Ian Cook, who has been fighting a long legal battle against the Victorian Labor Government over its corrupt dealings with councils over aged care meal services, is supporting the challenge. Cook ran as an independent in former Premier Daniel Andrews’ seat at the last Victorian election.
Under the present laws if someone donates anything over $1000 they automatically identify themselves. But unionists and others behind the major parties can simply rely on their unions to do the election funding job.
According to our source, the Federal Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus is also going to try to enter the fray as it appears that the Federal Government wants the same sort of set-up for federal elections, which is essentially a way of ensuring that the UnaParties stay in power.
Mr Hopper said the 2022 Victorian election was rigged against the minor anti-Labor parties – a reference to the group voting tickets system used for elections only in the Victorian Upper House that funnels votes to minor parties like Animal Justice and Legalise Cannabis who currently give the Labor Government a majority in the Upper House.
