❓ Hon Ben Dawkins questions the Minister for Electoral Affairs regarding financial accountability and governance standards for political parties, particularly in light of increased public funding. The Minister's response outlines reporting requirements related to electoral expenditure claims but avoids addressing broader governance standards.
AnsweredQoN 1106Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
ELECTORAL AMENDMENT (FINANCE AND OTHER MATTERS) BILL 2023
1106. Hon BEN DAWKINS to the parliamentary secretary representing the
Minister for Electoral Affairs:
I refer to the media reports today relating
to the government's plans to overhaul donation laws. Now that the
government is planning an almost doubling of public funding for political
parties, I ask the following —
(1) Will the
minister require political parties to comply with basic financial record
keeping, reporting and accountability standards such as those set out in part 5
of the Associations Incorporation Act 2015?
(2) Will the
minister require political parties and their executive officers to comply with
basic governance standards, such as disclosure of conflicts and officer duties,
such as those set out in part 4 of the abovementioned act?
(3) If no to (1) and (2), is the minister aware that a
local sporting club, by virtue of its incorporation, is required to comply with
the above standards, even though it does not receive millions of dollars of
taxpayers' money?
1106. Hon BEN DAWKINS to the parliamentary secretary representing the
Minister for Electoral Affairs:
I refer to the media reports today relating
to the government's plans to overhaul donation laws. Now that the
government is planning an almost doubling of public funding for political
parties, I ask the following —
(1) Will the
minister require political parties to comply with basic financial record
keeping, reporting and accountability standards such as those set out in part 5
of the Associations Incorporation Act 2015?
(2) Will the
minister require political parties and their executive officers to comply with
basic governance standards, such as disclosure of conflicts and officer duties,
such as those set out in part 4 of the abovementioned act?
(3) If no to (1) and (2), is the minister aware that a
local sporting club, by virtue of its incorporation, is required to comply with
the above standards, even though it does not receive millions of dollars of
taxpayers' money?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for some notice
of the question.
(1)–(3) The
reforms in the Electoral Amendment (Finance and Other Matters) Bill 2023 outlined
this morning by the Minister for Electoral Affairs will include reporting
requirements for political parties and candidates in relation to claims lodged for reimbursement of electoral expenditure.
Those claims are subject to scrutiny by the Western Australian Electoral
Commission and require appropriate evidence of expenditure. The bill will also
provide for new offences, as well as robust penalties for noncompliance. The
commission will be resourced to undertake
this task. The administrative and organisational structures and requirements for political parties are not within the jurisdiction of the WA Electoral
Commission, other than to ensure compliance by senior office holders with
relevant provisions of the Electoral Act 1907.
of the question.
(1)–(3) The
reforms in the Electoral Amendment (Finance and Other Matters) Bill 2023 outlined
this morning by the Minister for Electoral Affairs will include reporting
requirements for political parties and candidates in relation to claims lodged for reimbursement of electoral expenditure.
Those claims are subject to scrutiny by the Western Australian Electoral
Commission and require appropriate evidence of expenditure. The bill will also
provide for new offences, as well as robust penalties for noncompliance. The
commission will be resourced to undertake
this task. The administrative and organisational structures and requirements for political parties are not within the jurisdiction of the WA Electoral
Commission, other than to ensure compliance by senior office holders with
relevant provisions of the Electoral Act 1907.
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.