Tuesday, 2 August 2022

Ministers statements: political donations

Mr PEARSON (Essendon—Assistant Treasurer, Minister for Regulatory Reform, Minister for Government Services, Minister for Housing) (14:33): I rise to remind this chamber that Victoria’s donation laws are the strictest and most transparent political donation and disclosure laws in Australia. Reforms made to the Electoral Act 2002 back in 2018 ensure Victorians know who makes and receives political donations in real time. The Andrews Labor government effectively put an end to individuals’ and corporations’ attempts to buy influence in Victorian politics. It was our government that championed these laws to ensure their passage, while the coalition opposed them at every turn.

I can tell you with great confidence that the reforms of 2018 have enhanced the integrity of the Victorian electoral system and established a new, strict regime to regulate political expenditure and donations. The measures in these reforms are many: a disclosure and reporting scheme, a cap on donations, a ban on foreign donations, a cap on anonymous donations, annual returns required to the Victorian Electoral Commission and anti-avoidance offences carrying prison terms. The ultimate effect of these reforms is to improve transparency. Victorians know who is donating what to whom, and these reforms severely restrict the influence of private money in the political process, and that is how it should be. At every single step of the way on this reform path those opposite have opposed transparency and they have opposed integrity, and we certainly know why they did so. What has been revealed this morning is the involvement of the Leader of the Opposition in a brazen attempt to circumvent the country’s strictest donations laws to get an advantage at the next election. This person cannot be trusted. His whatever-it-takes approach to politics is a warning to all—

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! The Member for Gembrook is warned.

Ms Staley: On a point of order, Speaker, question time is not an opportunity to attack the opposition, and that includes ministers statements.

The SPEAKER: I ask the minister to come back to his ministers statement.

Mr PEARSON: What has been revealed this morning is the involvement of the Leader of the Opposition in a brazen attempt to circumvent the country’s strictest donations laws to get an advantage at the next election. This person cannot be trusted. His whatever-it-takes approach to politics is a warning to all to question his judgement and his ethics. What we have here is evidence of a scheme designed to donate to the Liberals through sham contracts. How many other sham contracts has the Leader of the Opposition procured to circumvent— (Time expired)