Public funding of elections killed corruption in Australia? Not quite.
[Facilitator's
Note: Thank you to Charmaine Rodrigues, Crisis Governance Specialist
(Inclusive Political Processes), UNDP New York, for sharing this
information.]
Read the full story by Mike Steketee in Australia Broadcasting Corporation.
The
idea of having the [Australian] public fund elections or capping
political donations was to prevent corruption in politics - and we know
just how successful that's been, writes Mike Steketee. Public funding
for federal elections was introduced by the Hawke government 30 years
ago with the noble intention of preventing the corruption of the
political system. Or so it was claimed at the time. In the words of the
report of a parliamentary inquiry, getting taxpayers to pick up the tab
"removes the necessity or temptation to seek funds that may come with
conditions imposed or implied" and "it may relieve parties from the
constant round of fundraising so that they can concentrate on policy
problems and solutions". As it turned out, less true words have seldom
been spoken.