Tough New Donations Laws Passed Through Parliament

Donations made to political parties in Queensland will now be open to greater scrutiny under new laws passed through State Parliament, Attorney-General and Minister for Justice Kerry Shine said today.

Mr Shine said the Electoral Amendment Bill amends the Queensland Electoral Act 1992 to toughen political donation laws and election funding entitlements.

“We have introduced a number of new laws which will make political parties and those who donate to them more accountable and transparent in the political process,” Mr Shine said.

“Under the new laws we have cut the threshold for reporting of donations from $1,500 to $1,000.

“We have also increased public scrutiny of donations by reducing disclosure timeframes from 12 months to 6 months, which means political parties will have to disclose donations twice a year.

“We’ve also reduced the timeframe for disclosure returns to be made to the Electoral Commission of Queensland from 20 weeks to 8 weeks.”
 
“We’ve also banned donations of foreign property to ensure that political donations are of property where Queensland laws can apply and can be enforced.”
 
Mr Shine said major donations will also come under greater scrutiny.

“Any donation totaling $100,000 or more from any single donor must be reported to the Electoral Commission of Queensland within 14 days of making the donation,” he said.

“These returns are in addition to the twice yearly reporting returns and must be made each time subsequent donations amounting to $100,000 or more are made by that donor in the reporting period.”

Mr Shine said the amendments have been made retrospective to 1 July 2008 to maintain consistency with established reporting guidelines.

Media Contact: Troy Davies 3239 6400 or 0488 799 273