Royal Commission-style inquiry into political donations shelved for good

WHEN the Palaszczuk Government did a deal with Peter Wellington in exchange for his support to allow Labor to form government following the 2015 election, many thought the move could clean up our state’s politics. It turns out it was false hope.

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IT HAS been delayed and delayed and delayed. Now the promised Royal Commission-style inquiry into political donations and government work has been officially shelved for good.

And with it Queenslanders have lost the chance to find out whether those seeking influence through cash actually get anything for their buck.

The inquiry was requested by former MP Peter Wellington in exchange for his support to allow Labor to form government following the 2015 election.

“I do not believe people or entities make donations of significant amounts of money to candidates or political parties unless they want something in return,” Mr Wellington has said of his inquiry call.

He wanted to know if there were any links between donations and the awarding of tenders and contracts.

He wanted the public to see if there was any quid pro quo for the millions in cash that is handed to political parties from the private sector.

Former independent MP and speaker Peter Wellington did a deal with the Palaszczuk Government in the hope of an inquiry into political donations, but the deal has been shelved.

It would have been a chance to shine a light on the process, to expose any wrongdoing should there be any and to make any reforms necessary to clean up the process.

The public is cynical about political donations. This inquiry would have gone some way to answering whether political donations are a healthy part of the democratic process or not.

But Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath’s office has confirmed the inquiry will not go ahead.

Her office instead pointed to other transparency measures brought in last term, like the real-time political donation disclosure system that allows voters to see who is donating to candidates and parties, within seven days of the cash changing hands.

“The need for an inquiry has been superseded by the CCC’s own investigation (Operation Belcarra) and a range of other Palaszczuk Government initiatives, such as real-time donation disclosure and a commitment to ban developer donations,” a Government spokeswoman said.

Attorney General Yvette D’Ath has confirmed that the inquiry into political donations will no longer go ahead. Picture: AAP/Dan Peled

“Mr Wellington had indicated he was satisfied with the steps the government had taken.”

The CCC’s Belcarra investigation did look at donations made to councils and the perception that council decision-making had been compromised.

The CCC recommended developer donations be banned on a local government level to stop any undue influence occurring.

But the CCC did not probe links between donations and State Government work.

And that is what Mr Wellington’s inquiry would have done.

Mr Wellington stood alongside the Premier and Attorney-General when they launched the real-time donation system.

He was also a big backer of the developer donation ban that the Government will bring in this term.

So, the Government has gone some way to satisfying his requests.

Labor will also go one step further and ban the donations on both a council and state level, much to the chagrin of the LNP which has labelled the move highly political and unfair and will likely launch a legal challenge should the laws pass later this year.

But to dump the donation inquiry is a lost opportunity. It would have done so much more.