{"id":417902,"date":"2025-12-01T19:55:18","date_gmt":"2025-12-01T19:55:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/417902\/"},"modified":"2025-12-01T19:55:18","modified_gmt":"2025-12-01T19:55:18","slug":"victoria-seeks-to-change-unconstitutional-donation-laws-amid-high-court-challenge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/417902\/","title":{"rendered":"Victoria seeks to change &#8216;unconstitutional&#8217; donation laws amid High Court challenge"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">A financial election advantage for the three biggest Victorian political parties will be removed in the face of a High Court challenge that has argued the state&#8217;s donation laws are unconstitutional.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">In 2018, the Andrews government introduced donation caps in Victoria that limit payments to candidates and parties at just under $5,000 every four years.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">But the laws contained a special exemption for the Labor, Liberal and National parties that were able to create nominated entities \u2014 to access funds built up over decades \u2014 to make payments to candidates and campaigns outside the cap.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Woman hands over Australian money to a man.\" class=\"Image_image__5tFYM ContentImage_image__DQ_cq\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/bb7e3b52192d44a8209494159e1946cf\" loading=\"lazy\" data-component=\"Image\" data-lazy=\"true\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"Typography_base__sj2RP FigureCaption_text__zDxQ5 Typography_sizeMobile12__w_FPC Typography_lineHeightMobile20___U7Vr Typography_regular__WeIG6 Typography_colourInherit__dfnUx\" data-component=\"Typography\">Donation caps were introduced in Victoria in 2018, limiting payments to candidates and parties at under $5,000 every four years. (AAP: Martin Philbey)<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">It means the parties have tens of millions of dollars they can potentially access.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">Other parties and independents were unable to set up the nominated entities and <a class=\"Link_link__kR0xA Link_link__5eL5m ScreenReaderOnly_srLinkHint__OysWz Link_showVisited__C1Fea Link_showFocus__ALyv2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2024-11-20\/victorian-political-donation-laws-face-high-court-challenge\/104620848\" data-component=\"Link\" data-uri=\"coremedia:\/\/article\/104620848\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">they argue that the laws meant Victorian elections were not a level playing field.<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">Representatives from the fledgling West Party and teal independents banded together to challenge Victoria\u2019s laws in the High Court, arguing they are unconstitutional.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">The government, in its recent defence in the case, conceded that the nominated entities were &#8220;discriminatory&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>Caps to be introduced for parties and independents<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">Premier Jacinta Allan is now seeking to change the laws to allow other parties and independents to set up a nominated entity.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">The government said the laws would introduce caps on funds transferred from nominated entities to parties and independents so that they are only used for administrative purposes like paying for office space, not campaign expenses.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Jacinta Allan appears serious, looking to the left, in a close portrait photograph.\" class=\"Image_image__5tFYM ContentImage_image__DQ_cq\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/9ebde4593cbae70c132d293e7ea7f6b6\" loading=\"lazy\" data-component=\"Image\" data-lazy=\"true\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"Typography_base__sj2RP FigureCaption_text__zDxQ5 Typography_sizeMobile12__w_FPC Typography_lineHeightMobile20___U7Vr Typography_regular__WeIG6 Typography_colourInherit__dfnUx\" data-component=\"Typography\">Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan is seeking to change the state&#8217;s donation laws. (AAP: Joel Carrett)<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">Transfers will be capped at $500,000 for parties and $50,000 over an election period for independent candidates.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">Currently, there are no caps on spending from the nominated entities for political parties or independents.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">&#8220;Fair elections are the bedrock of democracy, and we are delivering these reforms to ensure Victorians can be confident in their electoral processes,&#8221; Ms Allan said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">Last week, one of the plaintiffs in the High Court challenge, Paul Hopper from the West Party, hit out at the government.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">He has previously run as an independent in the seat of Werribee.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">\u201cVictorians want a level playing field. There should not be one set of rigged rules for the major parties and another set of impossible rules for everyone else,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">\u201cThe current system must be scrapped immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Paul Hopper, who is wearing a dark blue polo shirt, ran as an independent candidate at the last Victorian election\" class=\"Image_image__5tFYM ContentImage_image__DQ_cq\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/b7c5273f129ab1b30eae64a4800c5007\" loading=\"lazy\" data-component=\"Image\" data-lazy=\"true\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"Typography_base__sj2RP FigureCaption_text__zDxQ5 Typography_sizeMobile12__w_FPC Typography_lineHeightMobile20___U7Vr Typography_regular__WeIG6 Typography_colourInherit__dfnUx\" data-component=\"Typography\">Paul Hopper is one of the plaintiffs challenging the government on its donation laws in the High Court. (ABC News: Rudy De Santis)<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">The state also wanted to change ballots to ensure that if a candidate is dis-endorsed by a party it would be reflected on the ballot paper, even if it occurred after the close of nominations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">The electoral reforms would also cement a default early voting period of 10 days.<\/p>\n<p>No commitment to upper house reform\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">Despite multiple reports <a class=\"Link_link__kR0xA Link_link__5eL5m ScreenReaderOnly_srLinkHint__OysWz Link_showVisited__C1Fea Link_showFocus__ALyv2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2023-08-10\/victoria-microparties-upper-house-voting-election-system\/102708204\" data-component=\"Link\" data-uri=\"coremedia:\/\/article\/102708204\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">recommending Victoria abolish group-voting tickets in the upper house<\/a>, the Allan government remains uncommitted to reform.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">Group voting tickets allow voters to number one box above the line, with the parties then determining how preferences flow.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">This system and a complex scheme of backroom deals have led to some minor parties being elected with a tiny portion of the primary vote.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">Despite plenty of experts and parliamentary reports calling for change, the Victorian government is yet to commit to any reform before next year\u2019s state election.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">A parliamentary inquiry into upper house voting is due to be tabled in parliament this week.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A financial election advantage for the three biggest Victorian political parties will be removed in the face of&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":417903,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4740,8621,195691,90,22389,195692,606,15783,5368,50,195690,195693],"class_list":{"0":"post-417902","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-australia","9":"tag-donation","10":"tag-donation-laws","11":"tag-elections","12":"tag-greens","13":"tag-high-court-challenge","14":"tag-labor","15":"tag-liberal","16":"tag-nationals","17":"tag-news","18":"tag-teal","19":"tag-west-party"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115646072679875075","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/417902","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=417902"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/417902\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/417903"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=417902"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=417902"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=417902"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}