Ministerial Statement

ELECTORAL FUNDING REFORM

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier, Treasurer, Minister for State Development, Minister for the Public Sector, Minister for the Arts) (14:14): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: Public confidence in the institutions of government is critical to an effective democracy. This is why one of my first acts as Premier was to announce an Independent Commission Against Corruption, the legislation for which passed late last year. While we have been largely free of corruption here in South Australia, we need to ensure that both we remain so, but, equally importantly, that the public has confidence that government decision-making is made for the right reasons.

Good and transparent decision-making is also fundamental to our future prosperity. If we are to make ourselves an attractive place to invest, investors will need to be assured about our decision-making processes. As the well-known author and New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman says:

in the globalization system...one of the most important and enduring competitive advantages that a country can have today is a lean, effective, honest civil service.

A potentially corrosive influence on our democracy and our decision-making is the influence of money on the practice of politics. We see in the United States how the influence of big money can skew political debate and policy choices. I do not want to see that happen here in South Australia.

Therefore, today I announce the government will seek to introduce electoral funding reform to provide for public funding for electoral-related expenditure as well as greater transparency and accountability for political donations and restrictions on the nature of these donations and associated matters.

Our community is entitled to know more about the nature of donations made to our parties and to know about donations in a more timely fashion. Our community must have confidence that no government decisions or policies are influenced in any way by the receipt of any donation from a private entity. We need to stamp out any notion that access to members of parliament or members of the executive is facilitated by the payment of money.

Our community must have confidence that elections will be determined by the policies and performance of the political parties, not by the size of their election war chest. People looking to invest in our state must have confidence that government decisions are made free from any inappropriate interference.

This is a reform which can only be achieved through bipartisan and preferably multi-party consensus. This we will actively seek. I have asked the Deputy Premier to commence discussions with the opposition and minor parties as soon as possible on whether this can be achieved and, if so, the detailed model that can be agreed. I believe that we have a lot to be proud of in our public democratic institutions. These reforms are designed to strengthen them and ensure public confidence in them. I hope that this can be achieved.