Chook raffle push puts council pecking order in spotlight

A Queensland councillor is pushing for independent political candidates to be allowed to run chook raffles to fundraise for campaigns amid concerns the current rules favour political parties.

A Queensland councillor is pushing for independent political candidates to be given the right to run their own chook raffles to fundraise for campaigns amid concerns the rules are favouring political parties.

In Queensland, it is illegal for someone to run a raffle that benefits themselves – but there are a few entities that are exempt from the rules, including registered political parties.

It means independent political candidates, which includes the vast majority of council candidates across the state, are barred from using the traditional chook raffle as a way to raise funds for their campaigns.

Attorney-General Shannon Fentiman’s office has confirmed she will now seek advice on the matter to determine whether it is something that should be changed.

Moreton Bay Councillor Darren Grimwade is calling on the state government to change the rules ahead of the next council elections, which are due in March next year.

It comes amid an expected shake-up to local government election rules, which will limit how much candidates can spend on their campaigns.

Councillo Darren Grimwade.

Mr Grimwade said the current raffle rules were “grossly unfair” to independents – pointing out many local government candidates are not endorsed by political parties.

Only council candidates within Brisbane City Council are able to be endorsed by a political party, which means many candidates across the state must be independent.

“With all the recent scrutiny around political donations and fundraising I decided to cross my t’s and dot my i’s to ensure that everything was above board and that the fundraising activities I was considering were lawful,” Mr Grimwade said.

“I was shocked to learn that there was no specific legislation that allowed independent candidates the ability to lawfully conduct a basic ‘chook raffle’ to raise a few bucks for their campaign.”

A spokeswoman for Ms Fentiman confirmed the Attorney-General would seek further details on the matter, and said any changes would need to be made in consultation with the Electoral Commissioner.

Under laws recently introduced by the government but yet to pass parliament, caps will be introduced limiting how much candidates in local government elections can spend on their campaigns.

The caps vary depending on how many voters live within a council candidate’s ward.

The parliamentary committee that examined the reforms also called on the government to consider law changes to ensure independent candidates are not prevented from holding fundraising activities for local government elections.