The Australian Greens in the state of Victoria have called for the Premier of the state, Daniel Andrews, and his Government to suspend donations made by the gambling sector and property development sector to political groups as a measure to restore the democratic process’ integrity.
Earlier this morning, the donations from the 2018/19 financial year, including the ones for the elections in the state, were officially disclosed. According to reports, the Australian Hotels Association (AHA), which is currently considered an official representative of the majority of gambling establishments in the state of Victoria, donated a massive amount of AU$761,000 to the Victorian Labor party.
Nothing close to the above-mentioned amount was donated by the AHA to other parties in the state.
Apart from that, the Victorian Labour Party also received AU$1,143,000 from the fundraising body that has been blamed for organising special events to efficiently mask dodgy donations made to the political party from property development companies, Progressive Business.
With the Victorian Government elections that are set to take place later in 2020 and the revelations made through the IBAC’s inquiry into Casey Council, the Australian Greens believe that the urgency for some changes in the legislation regarding political donations has grown immensely. Regardless of the fact that there have been some reforms in the state, the Government of Victoria has remained dependent on the two industries mentioned above due to the political donations made, with those sectors seeking to expand its influence through donations to political candidates.
Australian Greens Say Gambling Industry Should Not Be in Position to Tarnish Democracy
Two years ago, in 2017, the Labor Government of Premier Andrews provided poker machine operators with unprecedented 20-year operating licences, guaranteeing a share of their profits for the decades to come. The money is set to be distributed to local communities for various good causes, as the authorities have been aimed at ending the expansion of the gambling harm that has widely been associated with the poker machine industry.
Now, the Australian Greens have called the local Government to make sure that the democracy in the state is not placed in the possession of what they described as “greedy gambling operators” or property development operators that have been serving only their own interests. According to the party, the contributions should be protected in a way that would make local citizens’ opinion more important.
As part of their efforts to put an end to all dodgy donations in the state of Victoria, the party of the Australian Greens plan to move an amendment to the upcoming Local Government Bill 2019, under which it would be illegal for both property development companies and gambling operators to make monetary contributions to political parties. Also, any illegal donations would be forfeited to the state of Victoria.
- Author
Daniel Williams
