02-03-2025: On February 12, the Australian Labor Party’s (ALP) Electoral Legislation Amendment (Electoral Reform) Bill 2024 passed the Senate in the federal parliament after just two hours of debate on amendments agreed to earlier by the Liberal Party of Australia/National Party of Australia Coalition. The ALP government refused to refer the bill to a parliamentary committee for proper scrutiny, as is customary for a bill of such a nature. Although the measures contained in the bill do not come into effect until 2026, most independents and minor parties are correctly calling the legislation a “stitch-up” by the Labor and Liberal major parties. It is already extremely difficult for independent candidates and candidates from smaller parties to raise enough money and receive enough coverage to come near to challenging the Labor and Liberal duopoly. Now, it will be an almost impossible task. The Labor and Liberal parties’ electoral changes are blatantly and openly undemocratic.
Funding loopholes
Australia’s ruling elites are effectively trying to force voters back to supporting the major corporate parties. Between 1980 and 2024 the primary vote for minor parties and independents has increased dramatically. The vote for the major parties at the last federal election in 2022 was at a historic low, and a study found that the proportion of voters always voting the same way at elections was also at a record low of 37%.[1] As economic and social problems get worse, voters are clearly looking for other options outside the realms of the establishment political show. The major parties are ostensibly attempting to keep big money out of politics – but this is basically aimed at the billionaire mining magnate Clive Palmer. At the last election, Palmer funded the United Australia Party (UAP), which actually did mount a progressive challenge to the Liberal, Labor and Green parties after they imposed horrific political repression in Australia under the guise of a fraudulent “Covid pandemic”, despite the UAP’s overt nationalism. The elites used some fraud to prevent UAP candidates being elected, as the UAP stood against vaccine mandates, lockdowns and other irrational dictates.[2]
The new electoral bill contains loopholes for the major parties one can drive a truck through. For example, there is a cap on election donations of $20 000 which sounds like a good initiative. However, there is not just one entity called the “Labor Party” and another entity called the “Liberal Party”. There are actually nine registered Labor parties – one for every state and territory and one federal. The Liberal Party has eight registered parties, and the National Party has five. So, someone can still “donate” over a million dollars to each major party every election cycle. Also, there is a limit of $800 000 which can be spent per electorate, but political advertising where the candidate’s name is not mentioned is uncapped. So this potentially means that the Labor and Liberal major parties can spend millions of dollars on billboards saying “Vote Labor” or “Vote Liberal” without interference.[3] Needless to say, this wholly disadvantages independent candidates who run in an election primarily on their name. In addition, the bill creates so called “nominated entities” where parties can park their assets and continue to receive funding outside the donation cap. This is a straight up rort for the major parties.
Doubling public funding
To make up for the fact that there will be some limitations on private political donations, the Bill compensates the major parties by increasing the public funding from elections by 2.4 times. The Bill increases public funding from $3.50 per vote at elections to $5.00 per vote, after the 4% threshold is reached, as determined by the Commonwealth Electoral Act. As the major parties always clear the 4% threshold by a large margin, while minor parties and independents struggle to pass 4% of the vote, this measure will effectively double the amount of taxpayers money forked out directly to the major parties. At the 2022 federal election, Labor and Liberal received a combined total of 57.4 million dollars.[4] This is a kick in the guts of voters, effectively charging them double through their taxes for not voting for the major parties. In addition, there will be a $90 million national spending cap per party or candidate. But again, this will mean the major parties can spend $90 million dollars nationwide, while independents will be stuck with the $800 000 cap or separate state and territory cap for Senate candidates. The section which has ensured this is that this will apply to parties with an independent’s name in it – which Senate candidates often do to get their name on the ballot for “above the line” voting.[5]
At the last election, the Liberal Party lost seats to the “teal” independents – economically conservative breakaways who demand urgent action on climate change. These electoral laws will make it much harder for the teal independents to challenge the Liberal Party. The Labor Party is also concerned about the Greens and other more progressive independents taking seats from them as people look for solutions to a dramatic cost of living crisis, the worst housing crisis ever, stagnating wages, an almost total lack of manufacturing and a dire lack of public infrastructure. In the international sphere, many people are aghast at the major parties backing of US imperialism in horrendously dangerous potential wars against Russia and Iran, as well as the aiding and abetting of an Israeli state massacre of Palestinians. There is almost universal rejection of the major parties enthusiastic facilitating of the AUKUS military alliance (to the tune of $368 billion) which is squarely aimed at Red China.
All of these measures are part of the machinery the state employs to keep working people out of the system of bourgeois politics. If Australia was not a class divided society, it would not cost anything to nominate for electoral office, and each candidate would have equal access to the media, equal coverage, equal access to campaign events and meeting halls and so on. But under capitalism, this is impossible. As Marxists have emphasised for hundreds of years, there cannot be democracy across different classes. For democracy to have any meaning, it must be carried out by the overwhelming majority, which means those who labour for a living. Only class and not national institutions have a chance of expanding political rights on a hitherto unprecedented scale. This country needs a revolution, for which a prerequisite is a workers’ party which fights for a workers’ republic. With banking, infrastructure, energy and more in public hands, a higher form of democracy will emerge.
Workers League
E: workersleague@protonmail.com
[1] www.australianelectionstudy.org/wp-content/uploads/The-2022-Australian-Federal-Election-Results-from-the-Australian-Election-Study.pdf (26-02-2025)
[2] www.redfireonline.com/2022/06/04/who-won-the-australian-federal-election/ (26-02-2025)
[3] www.australiainstitute.org.au/post/eight-things-you-need-to-know-about-the-governments-plan-to-change-australian-elections/ (26-02-2025)
[4] www.johnmenadue.com/faux-electoral-reform-entrenching-the-australian-party-duopoly/ (26-02-2025)
[5] www.canberratimes.com.au/story/8890762/controversial-electoral-reforms-cap-donations-spending/ (26-02-2025)
Red Fire 