Crikey with the wrap:
Reveal who donates more than a grand to your campaign — that’s the challenge from Victorian MP Helen Haines, The Age reports, as the fallout over donations from coal millionaire John Kinghorn to independent MP Zali Steggall continues. Haines says she’ll list every donation above $1000 on her website each quarter, and anything above the official threshold of $14,500 within just five days (!), demanding all sides of Parliament do likewise. At the moment donations are revealed eight months after the end of the financial year.
Speaking of, Steggall this morning has actually pointed the finger at Damien Hodgkinson, her former financial controller, over the donation bungle that saw a $100,000 cheque from Kinghorn not initially disclosed, as The Australian ($) continues. Hodgkinson is actually the director of Simon Holmes à Court’s Climate 200 campaign — and Climate 200 reportedly backed Steggall this week amid the drama. Steggall says she and the Warringah Independents board weren’t involved with the cheque, saying the “donation processing and accounting” was Hodgkinson’s job. It remains to be seen whether the bungle means Steggall’s job is untenable.
Speaking of — the Morrison government still has not decided whether to dump stood-aside education minister Alan Tudge, the AFR reports. Rachelle Miller, a former staffer who had a consensual affair with Tudge, alleged he was abusive and once violent. Tudge denies it. An independent investigator (who incidentally also looked into allegations against former High Court judge Dyson Heydon) gave the Tudge report to Prime Minister Scott Morrison on January 28, The New Daily reports. So where is it? Good question — Morrison says he supports the release of it, but no word on the date — or the fate of Tudge — yet. The education minister says he intends to recontest his Victorian seat of Aston at the federal election.
There has to be a better way. Transparency is only half the battle. Donations should be banned and some other mechanism used.
Some allocation of taxpayer funds or another idea.
This is not some esoteric issue. It is the heart of our system and it is dying.
