Calls For Real-Time Disclosures of Political Donations to Improve Transparency

An Australian think tank has called on the federal government to implement a real-time disclosure system for political donations to deal with the lack of transparency and integrity in Australian Politics. This comes as the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) has released data on donations made to political parties and politicians in the 2022-2023 financial year. According to the Australia Institute, there were “flaws” in the current disclosure system that make it take 18 months for some donation data to be released. The Institute also pointed out that the annual mass “dumping” of information by the AEC caused significant difficulties for voters, journalists, and community organisations to hold politicians and political parties accountable for the donations they received....