Foreign donations 'properly defined' should be banned: Liberal Party director Tony Nutt
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Federal Liberal Party director Tony Nutt has supported a ban on foreign donations, provided it did not exclude dual citizens or companies with established business interests in Australia from the political process.
Key points:
- "Prudential measure" helps protect elections from foreign interference, Tony Nutt says
- Between 2013 and 2015 Chinese-linked companies, individuals gave over $5.5 in donations
- Overwhelming number of donations made by individuals, companies in Australia
The party veteran has previously cautioned against sweeping changes to foreign donations laws, warning of unintended consequences and the "devil in the detail".
Mr Nutt has told a joint standing committee a "prudential measure" would help protect Australian elections from foreign interference.
The ABC has revealed between 2013 and 2015, Chinese-linked companies and individuals made more than $5.5 million in donations to Labor and the Coalition.
"We think it is timely to have a prudential measure to prevent foreign donations, properly defined," Mr Nutt said.
"We think that such a prudential measure will assist in protecting our democratic political institutions, and that given the developments that we can see across the world, that would be a timely and appropriate thing to do.
"There is a lot of information out that deserves having a look at, but as a general principle, we think that foreign donations properly defined should be excluded."
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull outlined a potential ban on foreign donations at the National Press Club, saying the public expected "only Australians and Australian businesses can seek to influence Australian elections".
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten introduced legislation on Monday to ban all foreign donations and anonymous donations over $5, and to lower the donation disclosure limit from $13,200 to $1,000.
Mr Nutt said the overwhelming number of political donations were made by individuals, companies or unions and community groups based in Australia.
"You may disagree with their perspective, but they are legitimate contributors to those sorts of debates," he said.
Sensible action required: Nutt
Mr Nutt said the committee would need to consider potential changes "very carefully" and learn from international examples.
He said the Government needed to protect the rights of Australians living overseas and dual citizens.
"If you're an Australian living in New York and you want to make a lawful political donation, you should not be prohibited because you are a resident overseas," he said.
"If you're a dual citizen, in a country that permits dual citizenship, you should be able to participate in the political system just like anyone else."
Mr Nutt said overseas-linked companies with established businesses in Australia should be able to donate, claiming they were not a danger to national security or political processes.
"There needs to be, given the complexity of modern society and international life, a lot of attention given to the detail," he said.
"Sometimes people talk about foreign donations when they are actually talking about donations from dual citizens and there is a bit of lazy discussion about this in commentary."
Mr Nutt also called on the committee to ensure any compliance measures did not impose excessive obligations on political donors.
"If you are going to take action, let's have sensible action, let's have some regulations and rules that people can understand and obey, that the AEC can afford, and lets to that on a considered basis," he said.
Topics: government-and-politics, federal-government, political-parties, australia
