Survey: Public link political donations with corruption

 Responding to the Australian National University’s “Attitudes to Electoral Reform” poll released today, Greens democracy spokesperson Senator Lee Rhiannon said:

 “This poll shows that the policies of Labor and the Coalition are at odds with the attitudes of Australian citizens.

 “A majority of the electorate disapprove of corporate political donations. 55 per cent of those surveyed believe that corporate donations are corrupt or somewhat corrupt. Only one third of those surveyed found that such donations are ‘honest’.

 “The Australian Greens have consistently been calling for a ban on donations from for-profit institutions, something that Labor and Tony Abbott’s Coalition have blocked.

 “I urge all political parties standing in this election to commit to far reaching electoral funding reform that is underpinned with strict limits on election expenditure and a ban on donations from for-profit institutions.

 “The survey also showed that 45 per cent of Australians believe there should be more women in Parliament and 55 per cent believe there should be more Indigenous Australians in Parliament.

 “The Greens are the only party in Parliament with a majority of women MP’s and a woman leader.

“We  are calling on all parties to reassess their internal rule to improve the representation of women and Indigenous Australians in our political system ," said Senator Rhiannon.

You can read the full report here: http://news.anu.edu.au/files/2013/08/Attitudes-to-Electoral-Reform-report.pdf

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