LNP fury at Annastacia Palaszczuk’s donor rules

Queensland Opposition Leader David Crisafulli and his shadow cabinet will continue to participate in cash-for-access fundraisers with political donors.

Queensland Opposition Leader David Crisafulli. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Tertius Pickard

Queensland Opposition Leader David Crisafulli and his shadow cabinet will continue to participate in cash-for-access fundraisers with political donors, slamming the Palaszczuk government’s new donation caps as a “corrupt financial gerrymander”.

As of this month, political donors in Queensland can donate only a total of $4000 to a political party and $6000 to candidates of the same party until after the next election in 2024.

Third party organisations, such as unions and industry lobby groups like the Queensland Resources Council, will still be able to spend up to $1m running a campaign during an election period.

Labor powerbroker Gary Bullock’s the United Workers Union got in ahead of the cap with a $200,000 donation to the ALP on June 30.

Other donations declared by Labor since the caps came into force have been described to the Electoral Commission of Queensland as “non-political”.

Mr Crisafulli attacked the new regimen as a “financial gerrymander,” and said he would not follow Annastacia Palaszczuk’s lead in banning cash-for-access events for his side of politics. “I will always comply with the law, always,” he told The Australian.

“But I’m increasingly alarmed about the financial gerrymander that the government is presiding over … dare I say it, I think it’s the most corrupt financial gerrymander I’ve ever seen.

“Individuals and businesses are now very seriously capped from the 1st of July, and yet the union movement have unfettered ability to be able to influence elections. $1m per registered union and $90,000 per seat (to run third-party campaigns).”

Attorney-General Shannon Fentiman. Picture: Liam Kidston

Unions are bound by the donation caps as well, but the LNP argues there are more Labor-aligned unions than conservative-aligned third party groups with the ability to run campaigns.

“I do think it’s an absurd situation when a third party group like a union can have that much more influence than a normal Queenslander – that’s unfair,” Mr Crisafulli said.

“The ability now for business to give is severely limited.”

The Premier announced that when the donation caps came in, she would ban Labor from holding cash-for-access events in the state. This came after Ms Palaszczuk reintroduced the practice when she was first elected premier in 2015.

Mr Crisafulli said the LNP would look more closely at raising money at a “grassroots level” with “small deductions” from people to other donors who could give up to the cap.

LNP state director Lincoln Folo said last week the party would consider holding their cash-for-access corporate observers program later in the year, after not organising the big-earning fundraiser for their state convention last weekend.

Attorney-General Shannon Fentiman said unions were subject to the same rules as employer organisations, and challenged Mr Crisafulli and the LNP to shun cash-for-access events. “These reforms apply the same way to organisations representing workers as they do to organisations representing employers,” she said.

“The Palaszczuk government introduced some of the toughest electoral reforms in the country, to strengthen public confidence in the electoral process, and stamp out big money donations.

“Instead of playing politics, the LNP must commit to the same fundraising integrity measures, and stop its members from participating in big business cash-for-­access meetings. “Our reforms build on the campaign expenditure caps, which limit the amount of money that can be spent by any registered third party.”