Independent MPs suggest legal challenge likely amid concerns at Parliament House that major parties are blocking competitorsFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastZali Steggall has dressed down Don Farrell in a fiery exchange over the Albanese government’s last-minute deal with the opposition to pass electoral laws crossbenchers say will disadvantage independents at the polls.Farrell held an impromptu press conference on Thursday morning to discuss the details of the deal before Steggall appeared and stood next to him.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email Continue reading…Independent MPs suggest legal challenge likely amid concerns at Parliament House that major parties are blocking competitorsFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastZali Steggall has dressed down Don Farrell in a fiery exchange over the Albanese government’s last-minute deal with the opposition to pass electoral laws crossbenchers say will disadvantage independents at the polls.Farrell held an impromptu press conference on Thursday morning to discuss the details of the deal before Steggall appeared and stood next to him.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email Continue reading…
Zali Steggall has dressed down Don Farrell in a fiery exchange over the Albanese government’s last-minute deal with the opposition to pass electoral laws crossbenchers say will disadvantage independents at the polls.
Farrell held an impromptu press conference on Thursday morning to discuss the details of the deal before Steggall appeared and stood next to him.
The Warringah MP, who unseated the former prime minister Tony Abbott in 2019 as an independent candidate, has been pushing for changes to federal electoral laws, including the introduction of truth in political advertising laws.
Steggall interrupted Farrell, the special minister of state, after he told a reporter the changes would make it easier for “ordinary Australians” to engage in the electoral process.
“If that’s so sure, why won’t you send the bill to inquiry to be assessed that it is actually democratic?” she asked, in reference to the changes not coming into effect until the 2028 federal election.
“Why don’t you tell the Australian people that what is going to happen – the big money that will be in politics is the public money, because now the public is paying for the money that you that you want to still spend during elections.”
The legislation, which passed the House of Representatives on Thursday morning, placed a $50,000 cap on individual donations and lowered the disclosure threshold to $5,000. Spending limits for political campaigns were set at $800,000 an electorate, and $90m nationally.
The last-minute amendments were secured this week in a deal between Labor and the Coalition, igniting fury among independent and minor-party MPs who accused the major political parties of a “stitch-up”.
Farrell said the process to pass the legislation had gone on for three years and defended the reforms as the “most transparent electoral reforms” to have passed.
“The whole process pushes downward pressure on the cost of elections so ordinary Australians have a chance to be elected, not those candidates that are supported by the billionaires and the millionaires,” he said.
Steggall reiterated her concerns about the reforms at a press conference with fellow independents.
“I would certainly welcome for this legislation to be challenged to the high court as to whether or not it is constitutional,” she said.
“We are independents, we don’t have the capacity to do that, but I think the Australian people deserve to have this legislation tested.”
The MP for Curtin, Kate Chaney, said a challenge was likely.
“No doubt that there’ll be a legal challenge, and I think that needs to run its course, to see whether these laws are unconstitutional,” she said. “But whether or not they’re unconstitutional, they are against the interests of the Australian public.”
Shortly after the changes passed the Senate on Wednesday night, the Greens’ democracy spokesperson, Larissa Waters, said she was “outraged but not shocked”.
“Both Labor and Liberal saw their lowest votes ever at the last election,” she said. “Instead of improving their policies, they’ve chosen to team up and cancel their competitors.”
The primary votes for the major parties have steadily declined. At the 2022 federal election the major parties received 68.5% of primary votes.
The crossbench had pushed to send the bill to an inquiry to further interrogate the proposed arrangements and their impact on independent newcomers.
Big Australian charities including Baptist Care Australia and the Australian Conservation Foundation also condemned the changes, pointing to a provision that prevents them using general donations to pay for electoral advocacy.
Robyn Sampson, the chief executive of Baptist Care, said charities needed to use donations to help inform Australians about key issues including housing, the cost of living and aged care.
“By restricting our ability to speak up, the government has made it harder for people to understand these issues,” she said. “The public deserves better.”
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