The Greens have today announced their intention to reintroduce legislation which would make it an offence under the Electoral Act for Ministers to offer direct access in return for money being donated to their party.
Greens spokesperson for Integrity of Government, Hon Alison Xamon MLC, made the announcement following revelations that McGowan Government Ministers were now offering the opportunity to meet with Ministers one on one for up to $10,000, money which goes directly to ALP coffers.
“When the Barnett Government did something similar the Greens spoke out strongly at the time, and the ALP in opposition joined the chorus. Yet now the ALP is in Government they are doing exactly the same thing!” Ms Xamon said.
“Quite simply, people should not be able to buy influence with Ministers.
“Most members of the public could never afford to do such a thing - why are the voices of people with disability who may want to talk about the impact of the NDIS, or a community group concerned about an inappropriate development near their homes, or farmers struggling with Government policies not as important?
“Instead we know that the people who can afford to shell out such large sums of money are the big end of town-professional lobbyists with wealthy clients, big business, developers. Let’s not be naïve, people don’t fork out such sums in order to talk about the weather, they expect to be able to use the opportunity to influence the Minister.
“Ministers in many instances are imbued with exceptional powers and often significant discretion in their decision making. In a state which continues to be haunted by the spectre of WA Inc the voters rightly have an expectation that in a democracy Ministers will exercise that authority with impartiality and in the public interest.
“These sorts of dodgy dealings quite simply fly in the face of that expectation. It doesn’t pass the pub test.”
Ms Xamon urged all parties to support the legislation when it is introduced to demonstrate their commitment to transparent Government and their willingness to be part of cleaning up politics.
