❓ Ms. Davies questions the Premier about delays in providing guidance on new election financial disclosure laws, while the Premier assures collaboration between parties and the Electoral Commission for a smooth transition.
AnsweredQoN 342Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
ELECTORAL AFFAIRS — ELECTION FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE
LAWS
342. Ms M.J. DAVIES to the Premier
I refer to a letter sent to the Western
Australian Electoral Commissioner last Friday, signed by the state directors of
the Labor Party, the Nationals WA, the Liberal Party of WA and the Greens WA,
raising concerns that they have waited for months for guidance from the
commission on the interpretation and rollout of the new election financial
disclosure laws and systems.
(1) Is it
acceptable that no detailed advice has been provided to date and that the next
meeting for these parties that was scheduled for 17 May has now been dragged
forward to tomorrow, which is just one and a half months out from the
implementation date?
(2) What will the
Premier's government do to ensure that parties and individuals can
respond and comply with any guidance before
the new laws come into effect on 1 July, when penalties, including imprisonment ,
will be applied if they are unable to comply?
LAWS
342. Ms M.J. DAVIES to the Premier
I refer to a letter sent to the Western
Australian Electoral Commissioner last Friday, signed by the state directors of
the Labor Party, the Nationals WA, the Liberal Party of WA and the Greens WA,
raising concerns that they have waited for months for guidance from the
commission on the interpretation and rollout of the new election financial
disclosure laws and systems.
(1) Is it
acceptable that no detailed advice has been provided to date and that the next
meeting for these parties that was scheduled for 17 May has now been dragged
forward to tomorrow, which is just one and a half months out from the
implementation date?
(2) What will the
Premier's government do to ensure that parties and individuals can
respond and comply with any guidance before
the new laws come into effect on 1 July, when penalties, including imprisonment ,
will be applied if they are unable to comply?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) Our
electoral reform laws are the biggest and most important changes to electoral
reform that we have seen in some decades. It
is an important opportunity to make sure that we are transparent about the
nature of those donations and where they have come from, and that we put
in place the framework and necessary technology to ensure that that provides as
little disruption as possible to the operations of the political parties.
Ms M.J. Davies interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please!
Mr R.H. COOK : I have not been
briefed by the state secretary of the Western Australian Labor Party, but I know
that there was a meeting with each of the directors or appropriate officers
from the political parties. I am pleased that they are working together with
the Electoral Commission on any issues to do with the transition to the new
arrangements, and obviously —
Ms M.J. Davies interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member, if you
want the opportunity for a supplementary question, I suggest you wait for that.
Mr R.H. COOK : Those officials
will work with the WA Electoral Commission and advise all their political party
representatives in the Parliament on the way forward.
electoral reform laws are the biggest and most important changes to electoral
reform that we have seen in some decades. It
is an important opportunity to make sure that we are transparent about the
nature of those donations and where they have come from, and that we put
in place the framework and necessary technology to ensure that that provides as
little disruption as possible to the operations of the political parties.
Ms M.J. Davies interjected.
The SPEAKER : Order, please!
Mr R.H. COOK : I have not been
briefed by the state secretary of the Western Australian Labor Party, but I know
that there was a meeting with each of the directors or appropriate officers
from the political parties. I am pleased that they are working together with
the Electoral Commission on any issues to do with the transition to the new
arrangements, and obviously —
Ms M.J. Davies interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member, if you
want the opportunity for a supplementary question, I suggest you wait for that.
Mr R.H. COOK : Those officials
will work with the WA Electoral Commission and advise all their political party
representatives in the Parliament on the way forward.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.