Our democracy is at risk. If we want to save it, we must all play a part | Katharine Murphy
by Katharine Murphy from on (#4Z26A)
Sports rorts. Unlawful robodebts. More than $80m in election donations. Is this the governance we want?
The federal election, the one that delivered the miracle, took place in May 2019. But because our disclosure system is deeply suboptimal, voters had to wait until February 2020 to learn where the money came from.
When the Australian Electoral Commission finally published the returns at the start of this week, we were able see that the mining magnate Clive Palmer invested $83.3m in fronting, but more importantly, influencing in the political contest that returned the Coalition to power. Let me just say that again - $83.3m.
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