Watch: Teal MP, Labor minister in furious standoff over donation law to reduce campaign spending
A heated confrontation in the corridors of Parliament House has ramped up the dispute between the Albanese government and the teal independents over donation reform, as independent MP Zali Steggall squared up to Special Minister of State Don Farrell to accuse him of shutting the independents out of negotiations on how much money they can spend.
The pair ran into each other in the parliamentary press gallery on Thursday morning after Farrell had been interviewed on Radio National, where their angry exchange – all finger-pointing, interruptions and dismissals – was watched by a throng of press gallery journalists.
The government struck a deal with the Coalition this week to overhaul Australia’s election laws and cap donations, infuriating independents who argue it gives the major parties access to both per seat expenditure and a national campaigning budget they do not receive.
The laws, which were rapidly shepherded through parliament on Wednesday night, require donations of more than $5000 to be publicly disclosed and let donors contribute up to $50,000 to a candidate after Labor conceded to Coalition demands to more than double both caps.
Farrell was speaking to reporters in the corridors of parliament after he had finished an interview, before Steggall strode over and started peppering the minister with questions.
“Why won’t you send the bill to [an] inquiry to be assessed that it is actually democratic?” Steggall asked.
Farrell responded: “we’ve been engaged in this process for three years from the day that I took office … ordinary Australians can participate in the process, and then you don’t have to be an acolyte of a millionaire or a billionaire to win seats in the Australian parliament”.
In response, Steggall said Farrell needed to make the Australian people aware of public money being spent to as she claimed “the public is paying for the money that you want to still spend during elections”.
