Lawmaking contributes to progress and thus should be seen as fundamentally noble. Politicians' privileged role is a position of public trust.
Their duty to be honest and altruistic is amplified by the fact that they deal exclusively with taxpayers' funds. And indeed many of our elected representatives are decent and hardworking champions of their communities. Yet survey after survey reveals politicians are viewed with disdain. In recent days we've seen, yet again, why.
The resignation of Sussan Ley from the role of federal health minister over an expenses controversy is but the latest in a lamentably long list of gormless and arrogant abuse of trust. It reflects an ugly, unacceptable sense of entitlement across the entire Parliament.
One of the most egregious recent cases, for example, was that of Labor senator Sam Dastyari, who shamefully supported Chinese positions after receiving direct payments from Chinese business interests.
The disdain is augmented by the fact that pretty much after each scandal our politicians engage in a bout of pious hand-wringing, launch a review or inquiry and promise to do better in the future. But little if anything changes; the whole process in inevitably repeated, further fuelling cynicism.
The Age has consistently argued this perception of corruption, this putrid sore on the body politic, will remain unless there is reform to the rules governing political expenses and donations. We believe that central to such reform must be the establishment of a federal independent anti-corruption commission. Only in this way can the tenets of public policy – accountability and transparency – be applied.
The moment is propitious to launch such long-overdue change. Only a matter of days ago, a poll indicated as many as four in five Australians reckon there is widespread corruption in federal politics – and they want a new independent watchdog to eradicate it.
Mindful of this, and thus perhaps opportunistically, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten is backing a call to examine the introduction of a national anti-corruption body. Whatever his motives, we believe his position is superior to that of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, who is proposing merely an inquiry into politicians' expenses.
Effective democracy depends on public confidence. Restoring and then preserving such faith requires far broader and deeper reform than clarification and rigorous application of rules about expenses – and we do not for a moment dispute that politicians have legitimate expenses.
Other necessary changes include online public disclosure of donations within 24 hours of them being made, reducing the disclosure threshold from $13,000 to $1000 and limiting donations from individuals, corporations and lobbying organisations to, say, $2000 for an individual candidate and $5000 for a party.
Further, donations from foreign interests should be banned; unions should be prevented from making compulsory donations of members' fees to Labor; spending by parties on overall election campaigns and on individual seats should be capped; and compliance penalties should be increased.
To compensate for ending opaque and insidious private financing of politics, the public funding system should be extended, based on votes received.
Should our politicians continue to baulk at real reform, they will rightly be seen as ignoble and hypocritical. The best leadership comes from example, from action. The lack thereof by those we send to Canberra to make laws for the rest of us is undermining our democracy.
They know the status quo stinks. Rather than continuing to short-change us all, they owe the community real and urgent change.
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